Luigi's Dragons
by Aeolian Mode
Summary: LD is a story about a clash between good and evil Dragons, and Mario and Luigi are thrown into the middle of it. Full of Luigi and Mario angst. Moderate violence. Complete!
1. Ironclaw and Malice

LUIGI'S DRAGONS

Please don't be intimidated by the length of this story (approximately 80 pages as of now, 10 point Georgia font on my program)! If you think you'll like it, please read it, a chapter a day if you can:3 Reviews make me really happy, so if you are reading this and haven't reviewed make an account and do so!

Rating: The story is BORDERLINE K to T, because of heavier violence that would't quite be K but is free of coarse language and adult themes. What matters is how much violence you know you can take, if you're a younger child. And if you're a parent, you can trust me not to include anything beyond violence in my stories that you will disapprove.

Summary: When Luigi finds a Dragon Egg, he, Mario, Peach, and a whole team of new characters must raise the dragon Aeolian and lead him to his destiny- to free his people from a terrible conflict. The evil Dragon lord Growle of the Moonshards knows that if he can capture Aeolian and brainwash him, then the prophecies about him will be rendered obsolete, and he will gain control of the Starbringers. Can Luigi and his friends save the Dragon Kingdom by helping Aeolian, or will they fall into shadow?

Notes: For those of you who REALLY like Luigi, you'll love this! Please review it, or else I'll have no inclination to continue. Reviewing makes the author feel like he has a reason to keep writing. So please Rn'R. I'll take any kind of review, from over-excited ravings to flat-out flames. (I actually encourage flames of any sort, as long as you have reason behind your madness. It really helps me write better.)

As for the dreaded Mary-Sue, I try to avoid them in my OCs, so if someone seems sueish to you, tell me and I'll try toning down. (For you new writers out there, it may be a good idea to look up Mary Sue and find out how you can avoid making one! Basically it is an unrealistically overdeveloped character, to put quickly).

Also note that I wrote this out of thin air, I had no outline, no plot planned out, and nothing to go on but my imagination, so some details may be out of place and continuinity may be off somewhere. When I'm done with this I'll probably rewrite it to make it flow better.

Note that I'm not going to bother doing: "Its a-me, Luigi!" but instead I will do "Its me, Luigi!" The Italian accent is implied in Luigi and Mario's dialogue. I think it would be easier to read this way and you can let your imagination put the voices in their mouths. You know what Luigi sounds like, right? If not, why are you reading this?

**Note the time setting: this is important! **It is set after Mario and Peach's marriage and Luigi is still single and living with Mario and Peach, because he and Mario work in the same job and share their profits. ALSO NOTE that Peach lives in Mario's house and not the castle. The castle does belong to Mario and Peach but neither of them wanted to live in the castle, but rather a humble life in a cottage.

And here we go!

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CHAPTER ONE: IRONCLAW AND MALICE

"Luigi?"

Luigi looked up from his book and responded with a low "hm?" His brother, Mario, was trying to get his attention. The short, fat Italian plumber stood watching his younger, yet taller and leaner brother from nearby.

"Peach and I are going to the store for a while. We'll be back in a few hours. Make sure you clean the kitchen for Peach, alright?"

"Okay." Luigi didn't mind doing housework for his brother and his wife, he liked to help around the house. He placed his favorite green bookmark inside his book which was titled "The Top Ten Ways to Sling Koopa Shells". Mario and Luigi had a healthy relationship, but this also meant that they were always getting into fights about who was stronger. Luigi had been reading many different books lately, trying to hone in on topics that he wasn't as good as Mario was. It was a fight for strength, and at the moment, Luigi was winning.

With Mario's recent marriage to Peach, his activity in Mushroom Kingdom decreased. Bowser was quieter, crime rates had dropped a bit, and Luigi was normally the one rescuing Toads or throwing Bob-Ombs. It was true that Mario was still active, but Luigi was becoming more of the hero lately. He didn't know how he felt about it. The attention was nice, but Mario seemed to be _happier_ then he was. He felt good for Mario, but the more Luigi saw Mario and Peach together, the more lonesome he became.  
He had been kicked out of the bedroom that he and Mario shared in bunk-beds ever since they moved into their house in Mushroom Kingdom. While modifications on the house were in progress, Luigi now slept on a couch in the living room, lonely and uncomfortable. Luigi knew what he was missing- a wife. But his shy nature tended to repel females of any sort, while Mario was more like a prince in shining armor, or rather, a fat plumber in worn overalls and a large red hat. Luigi himself was in great contrast to Mario, with his clumsy and timid nature.

He heard Mario and Peach shut the door, and he jumped off of the couch and left to the kitchen. Dishes were piled in the sink, most of them stained with mushroom sauce. Luigi never ceased to be amazed at how many different meals and tastes someone could make out of mushrooms, and this was why he and his brother still ate them without losing their taste for them.

As he dunked dishes into soapy water and scrubbed them down, he looked out a window which was conveiniently placed above the sink. After stacking a few clean dishes, he saw strange activity in a surrounding forest. Curious, he dropped what he was doing and peered closer to the window.  
He saw something moving deep within the trees, but what? Was it a threat, or was it a lost Toad? Whatever it was, Luigi knew that Mario would understand the situation if he left cleaning to investigate. He grabbed a hammer and mushroom from a nearby shelf and dashed to the door after jumping over a few stray items. He burst out of the door and dashed into the forest without a second thought.  
As soon as he entered the forest, the leaves blotting out the light, he became nervous. Wouldn't the person he saw have noticed him by now?  
"H...hello?"

Birds rustled in the trees, but nothing vocal responded.

"Hello?" Luigi repeated louder. His grip tightened on his hammer. Despite the warm Summer weather, a chill was in the air.

Luigi's eyes trailed to the ground, and he spotted something lying in the foliage. He knelt to the ground to examine the strange finding. It was round and oval-shaped, with purple spots on a green background.

_An... egg?_

He lifted up the object and examined it- it was small, just a bit bigger then the average chicken egg. He tapped it, and felt that it was as hard as a rock. He smiled, without knowing why, then tucked it in his pocket.

"Mario has to see this..." Luigi mumbled with a grin.

He felt hot breath on his back. His grin vanished.  
He had just taken _someone's_ egg.

Slowly, he turned his head to look over his shoulder... then screamed and fell backwards.

Two creatures stood over him. They looked like gigantic Koopas with wings- like Bowser without his shell and two menacing devices of flight.

Luigi scrambled backwards, but hit his back on a tree, causing his green hat to fall into his lap. He then thrust his hands and forehead onto the ground and said, "P...please don't hurt me... please... I... I haven't done anything wrong."

There was a short silence. Luigi wondered if the strange monsters could even understand him. Then, one of them smiled.

"Ironclaw... this man's a weenie!" Its voice was deep and powerful, like a blacksmith's hammer striking iron.  
"You've got that right, Malice." The smaller winged Koopa grinned, his (or was it her? Luigi couldn't tell) voice was shallower and more light. "What should we do with him? He looks a lot like that Mario we've heard so much about."

"I think this green guy is his brother."  
"No, is it that Lu... something, right?"

The two Koopas paused, as if they were trying to remember his name.

"Um... Luigi..." Luigi said, shaking like never before. He had seen ghosts in his time, but this was something unheard of. He tried his hardest to stand up as he gripped the tree. "W...what do you want?"  
"Well, Luio, apparently you've stolen the egg we have been searching so hard for! Now give it here and we'll let you keep your life. I know, its not much, but its the best we can offer." It spoke in an intimidating voice. Luigi then heard a clicking sound. He soon realized that it was his knees knocking together.

"N...no!" He did not know what made him refuse to return the egg. But something told him that whatever the monsters wanted with it, it was not for the greater good. "I won't let you have it!"

The two monsters roared and shot blasts of fire into the air. "Now! You die!"

Luigi screamed, jumping on his feet and grabbing his hammer as he watched the bigger winged Koopa take a deep breath, then spit out a blast of fire towards him. Trees were lit ablaze. Luigi had seen Bowser do this, but this fire seemed to be hotter and bigger then anything he had seen Bowser do.  
He dashed away from the burning trees, trying to find Mario to get help, but a wall of fire appeared on the path, trapping him. Having nowhere to go, Luigi turned to face his nightmare. He took a breath, then asked them a question.

"What are you?"  
"We are Dragons! Hybrid Koopas who follow our leader in the skies! And you have stolen our clan's greatest treasure, the egg that will hatch into a beast of unspeakable power! But those who were sent out to find the egg never returned, and they had dropped it right here in this forest! That egg is going to become the strongest Dragon in the history of the universe, and whoever trains the beast within it will have no one to stand in their way of victory!"

Luigi then realized what was happening. A new breed of people wanted to establish themselves as the strongest race in the world. This meant that Mario's future with Peach and an upcoming family would be over- they could kill him. They could kill everyone. But if a baby was inside the egg, a baby that could be trained to do good, then good will come to the world.

"Nothing will stand in my way between protecting this egg!" Luigi suddenly felt power in his veins. "Nothing! Not even you!"

With a battle cry, Luigi dashed forth with his hammer in his hand. Lightning began to sizzle around his fingers. The hammer glowed, and he leapt into the air and struck the larger Dragon across the chest. It moaned, staggering backwards as lightning energy sizzled around his body, briefly showing its skeleton.

"He's strong!" Malice breathed with a wheeze.

"We better finish him once and for all!" Ironclaw raised his hand, showing gleaming, sharp claws. He then jumped and aimed for Luigi, but he rolled aside as Ironclaw hit the ground with a ground-shaking thud.

Luigi knew that he had to stop these beasts before they reached the house. Once again, he dashed at Malice, who was still injured. He hit the beast hard with his hammer once more, knocking the creature backwards.

"You fool!" Malice choked. "Ironclaw! Its time for us!"

Malice, without further warning, shot a ball of fire towards Ironclaw. Ironclaw caught the fireball with his razorlike nails. His claws began to glow a bright orange.

"This is it for you, green!"  
His speed was remarkable as he flew to Luigi. Frozen in place, Luigi was unable to defend himself from this blow. The next thing he knew, he felt sizzling, burning claws against his chest. After a split second of surprise, pain took its place as he was sent spinning to the ground. He hit the earth so hard he bounced back up, then Ironclaw caught him in midair and tossed him into a tree.

Luigi moaned, sliding back to the ground.  
"Time for the finishing blow, Malice!"  
"It would be a pleasure."

As the creature began to walk to him, Luigi regained his footing, breathing hard. Lightning began to collect around his body, and then, he threw his hammer towards Ironclaw. A thunderclap sang through the air as the hammer smashed into the dragon with formidable strength, knocking the Dragon back. But instead of falling to the ground like any normal hammer should, it was also magnetically charged to the metal buttons on Luigi's overalls. The hammer then spun around, and like a boomerang, slammed into the back of Malice's head. Luigi caught the hammer and drained it of its charge. He dropped his weapon.

Malice was knocked cold, while Ironclaw was sent crashing into the ground. He cast Luigi a surprised and horrified glance. This man was a lot stronger then he looked.

He seemed to think that he wasn't strong enough to take on Luigi now, and with his friend unconscious, Ironclaw seemed to have no choice but to leave. He stood up and dragged Malice away. "We'll be back, do you hear us!? We'll be back!"

Ironclaw hoisted Malice onto his back then took off into the skies, flying away into the clouds.  
Luigi watched them for a moment, then looked down at a horrifying gash that was left in his chest. His overalls and undershirt were shredded in three places, revealing bloody slashes. His back stung from hitting the ground, and he felt dizzy.

He reached inside his pocket for the mushroom he brought, but the world spun, and he soon lost control of his own movements. A black cloud seemed to seep into his vision, and he collapsed onto the ground.

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A black abyss appeared.

Swirling, white lights gleamed in the darkness.

He heard a voice, but it was distant and unintelligible.

He moved towards the voice to hear it clearer, but did not know how he was moving. Was he walking? Was he flying? Where was he? What day was it?  
"The egg in your pocket..." he heard a faint voice. "Luigi... has rescued our heir..."

He strained his ears to listen, but did he have ears? All he knew was this fact: he existed.  
"There are two clans... one Dragon to bind them in peace... or one dragon to continue the era of conflict... good and evil... the fate of the Universe... in one Dragon... in the hands of you..."  
Suddenly, a brilliant beam of light shot out from the sky (or was it a sky?). A being appeared.

"You, Luigi! You have rescued my son."

"Who are you?" He heard his own voice speak.  
"I am communicating to you in your subconscious, through the egg. The baby inside the egg has a mind, and I can communicate through minds, as all Dragons in the West Clan are capable of. I am of the Starbringers, the clan that you would consider good. The leader of the other clan, the Moonshards, is a tyrant and is taking control of the once-good people. They are after my son. They know that I have married a dragon from the Moonshards, a thing unheard of in our culture. Our son is the one who can restore the two clans into one, and end the senseless wars. But, the Moonshards know that if they can get him before he hatches, they can control him and continue the bloodlust in our nations. Unfortunately for them and for the Mushroom Kingdom, the messenger who stole the egg from the Starbringer hatchery has dropped the egg over the Mushroom Kingdom planet. It landed in your woods, and you found it.

"There is no way for a human to enter the Dragon Kingdoms except with another dragon. But Dragons can enter your kingdom. You, Luigi, must raise my son and bring it to the Starbringers!"

"But... there's already so much happening... my brother... he's married... and... he doesn't want pets..."

"This is no pet! This is the salvation of our clans!" The Starbringer leader, Luigi knew, said with both power and a just anger. "Raising a dragon will be difficult, true. Maybe your brother would like to help you."

"But... what if I fail?"  
"Then the world will fail, unless a miracle happens. And miracles are real indeed, but rare. Luigi, we're all counting on you, if not, a miracle."  
The light faded, and darkness took over.


	2. The Egg

CHAPTER TWO: THE EGG

OOC: I apologize for the horrible formatting that FF did to my story. It was in Open Office, in proper paragraphs using the tab key and no spaces in between paragraphs but it was completely messed up when it went through. I'm too lazy to fix it at the moment. Also I got a review from someone but I cannot view their fanfiction because they reviewed as anonymous. If you could, review in your FF account. ;)

000

Luigi moaned softly, opening his eyes. He found himself on the couch in his house, wrapped in a soft blanket. He felt something on his forehead that was not his hat, and it took him a while to realize that it was an icepack. He took it off and tried to sit up, but a jolt of pain shot up his spine and chest, and he slowly leaned back down.

"Luigi?" He heard Peach's tender, high-pitched voice. "Oh, Luigi! You're alright!" He heard her run to his side. "Mario, quick! Luigi's awake!"

Soon, both Mario and Peach had surrounded him, excited. They would have many questions, and Luigi intended to answer them.

"Luigi, what happened?" Mario asked quickly, jumping up and down. They had obviously been very worried for him. How long was he out?

"Wait, let's ask him what's important first." Peach laid a hand lightly on Mario's shoulder. "How do you feel, Luigi?"

Luigi opened his mouth to speak, but instead, he coughed. He lifted his hand and coughed for a few seconds. When he recovered, he said, "Um... um... my back... hurts... and I feel... dizzy..."

"If you need anything, please tell us, Luigi. But first we would like to know what happened." Peach continued.

"There was... something in the forest... I left to look... I found an egg... then I was attacked. I was attacked by monsters..." He found it hard to speak.

"An egg? An egg of what?"

"I had a dream... something told me... that it was a dragon destined to save... save his people..." Luigi coughed again, then said, "I can't... continue..."

His voice was quiet and raspy, and neither Mario nor Peach could make out what he was saying very clearly, but they did hear something about a dragon and about eggs.

"You tell us when you feel better, okay?" Mario said, knowing that whatever happened to Luigi, it was very important. "Do you need anything right now? Some food? Something to drink?"  
Luigi shook his head. "I... I just want... sleep..."

He opened his eyes and glanced at a nearby window, seeing it was nighttime. Had Mario and Peach been staying awake at his side even into the night? How long had he been unconscious? He was glad he lived with them, if not, he could very well have died.

"H... how long... has it been...?" He managed, his voice growing weaker.

"Just a day." Mario replied. "You get some sleep. We better go sleep too, we've been awake a long time."

Mario and Peach left, and soon afterwards, Luigi shut his eyes and was locked in a dreamless darkness.

Throughout the next two days, Luigi had not the strength to speak. He was completely drained, how he did not know. Something that the evil dragons had done to him as they mercilessly pounded him in the forest left him in a state of severe illness. Yet, under Mario and Peach's careful supervision, he began his journey down the road to recovery.

On his third day, Luigi finally had enough strength to sit up and talk. Once Mario and Peach sat near him, he began.

"I was washing dishes when I saw something in the forest. When I went to see what it was, I found this..." he reached into his pocket and pulled out the egg he found. The egg seemed to be a lighter then it was when he found it. Perhaps it was about to hatch?

"After I picked it up, I was attacked by two monsters that looked like Koopas without their shells, instead, they had wings on their backs. They said they were dragons, from the Dragon Kingdom... I don't know where that is."

Mario and Peach seemed worried and confused, but they didn't say anything, letting Luigi continue.

"Something in me told me that I should refuse returning the egg. I didn't give it back to them, and then they attacked me. I defeated them though, but that was only after they hurt me badly, and I was knocked out.

"When I was unconscious I had a dream. Well, it actually wasn't a dream but I figured out that it was the leader of some tribe of Dragons communicating to my subconscious through the egg. He said that the baby in the egg is the one that can unite two warring Dragon tribes into one peaceful faction again. He said that only dragons can fly to the Dragon Kingdom when their wings work, so he said that I need to raise and protect the dragon so he can go and save his people."

Luigi hesitated, then looked up at Mario. "Its very important... you can help me, right, Mario? I can't do this alone... I'm... scared..."

Mario's expression was of both shock and horror. But then, compassion and love came over his face, and he hugged his brother. "We've always been through our trials together, Luigi. You're my brother, and I'll help you no matter what it takes."

Peach joined Mario and hugged both him and Luigi. "I'll do what I can to help you both." She whispered. "We need to save these people if they are hurting. We need to do to them what we would want them to do to us."

"The three of us can do this." Mario finished, "we'll help you to the end, Luigi!"


	3. The Hatching

CHAPTER THREE: THE HATCHING

A/N: If you haven't noticed already, I've got the book cover in a link in my profile. None of my pictures contain explicit violence but there may be a scratch or two on a character. Check it out if you'd like.

I hope you'll like this chapter, it reveals a lot more of the storyline. And what's a Mayhem? You'll find out...

000

"How do you think we should hatch it?" Mario took off his hat and scratched his scalp, curiously staring at the bizarre egg Luigi held in his bruised hands.

"Well, dragons are cold-blooded creatures like Koopas, aren't they?" Peach piped in, "So I don't think they would've sat on their eggs to keep them warm. Perhaps they breathed fire on them in their nest to keep them warm. Do you think we should put it in the fireplace?

"I don't think we should end up boiling the Dragon Kingdom's salvation," Luigi said quietly, stroking the egg as he stared at it with his intense blue eyes, which had become much more lively since he was injured. He had recuperated well, though he still had minor scratches and bruises on his body. He was able to walk now, and speak without hesitating to cough.

"True," Peach replied as she leaned up against the wall, tapping her delicate chin in contemplation. "There has to be some way to heat the egg without overheating it."

"An electric blanket!" Mario snapped. "I think I have one somewhere. All we have to do is wrap the egg up nice and tidy, and wait for it to spring to life."

Luigi smiled. "That sounds like a good plan. I can't wait to see what it looks like..."

"Pretty soon, I think you'll have seen it enough," Peach sighed. "Raising a dragon sounds like bringing up a wild bull, or worse, a Chomp."

Luigi leaned back in his couch, without having much to say. Lost in his thoughts, he began to unconsciously stroke his mustache, a habit he had accidentally developed. When he did this, it usually meant his mind was lost in a sea of thoughts and subjects, and his hand would become bored with his mind elsewhere, and it would automatically go to his mustache, which was combed and less bushy then his brother Mario's, who throughout seemed to take less care of himself then Luigi did.

The egg in Luigi's free hand quivered for a moment, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"It moved!" He said.

"Will it hatch?" Peach ran to him and looked at the egg curiously and excitedly with anticipation.

"I don't know... it stopped moving." Luigi replied, feeling that the egg had gone still.

Soon afterward, they heard Mario shout with triumph. "Aha! Found it!"

He appeared into the living room from the hallway, holding a small electric blanket, cord dangling behind him. He plugged it in an outlet nearest to Luigi's couch, and extended it to Luigi. He took it and wrapped the egg gently in the blanket.

"I guess all we can do now is wait?" Mario hummed.

"Yeah," Luigi replied softly, "but I"m not looking forward to actually raising it."

"You're not doing it alone. There's plenty of people besides Mario and I that will be willing to help you." Peach laid a hand on Luigi's shoulder. "You and Mario have saved the lives of countless people countless times, including myself. This is a good opportunity for the people in the villages in the Mushroom Kingdom to return the millions of favors and heroic deeds you and Mario have done."

Luigi smiled. "Thanks..."

"In the meanwhile, why don't we go for a walk, Luigi? You haven't been outside in a while. It would be nice to get some fresh air, eh?"

Luigi looked out the window, and saw the golden sunlight bathing the world with color. But despite the liveliness of the outdoors, fear entered Luigi's heart, and he shook his head quickly. "...Ironclaw and Malice... they might be waiting for me..."

"You've got me here. Besides, the townsfolk need to know what happened." Mario replied, patting Luigi's back.

"What if Ironclaw and Malice just wait for us to leave, then attack Peach and steal the egg?"

Mario paused. "That is a good point... but I don't think that they'll be back so soon. They'll need to recover from the damage you did to them."

"Its been four days. I've recovered too... so that means they would, right?"

"How about this. I'll go outside and check to see if there are any dragons lurking around. You wait here."

"Okay..." Luigi was hesitant to let his brother go outside by himself, but Mario was strong and Luigi convinced himself to think that Mario could handle it.

Mario slipped out the door after arming himself with a hammer. Luigi and Peach waited. Luigi continued reading his book while Peach began to pick things up off the floor and straighten anything out of order in her house. A few minutes passed, and to Luigi's relief, Mario returned. However, someone was following him.

Luigi saw that it was a Paratroopa, a turtle-like Koopa with dove wings growing out of its red shell. He had yellow skin, as most Koopas and Paratroopas. Luigi then wondered if Paratroopas were some species of dragon, but the Paratroopa had a shell, and the creatures Luigi saw had huge wings like bats and a more slender form. Most of the Koopas and Paratroopas Luigi had seen were somewhat chubby and round.

"Mario told some of us what happened," The Paratroopa said in his high-pitched voice. "The Paratroopatroll of the High Skies has been called to action. We'll be watching the skies around your house closely, to make sure that no intruder gets in our way. Word spreads fast in the Mushroom Kingdom, so soon everyone in town will know about what happened to you, Luigi, and we'll fight any evil Dragon that comes."

"But what if you see a dragon that's not evil?" Luigi asked after thinking a bit. "I remember in my dream, that there are two clans of dragons, the Starbringers and the Moonshards. The Starbringers are peaceful and have been attacked by the Moonshards... and I think that Malice and Ironclaw are a part of the Moonshards." Luigi replied, recalling his dream clearly.

"Then I guess we'll have to capture and interrogate any Dragon that comes through our borders. They slipped by before because we let our guard down. But the Paratroopatroll will be ready for anything that comes our way!" The Paratroopa saluted. "By the way, my name is Trott."

"Thank you for your help, Trott." Luigi said. "We-"

His voice was cut short by a sudden shout from Peach. She was pointing to the couch and the electric blanket.

"The egg! Its moving!"

Luigi, Mario, and Trott whipped around to look at the couch. After a few seconds of silence, panic ensued. Luigi, Mario, and Trott scrambled quickly over to the couch, their voices overlapping each other's in a mess of questions. Luigi, who was still hurting from his injuries, managed to re-open one of his cuts on his side, but he was too excited to notice, let alone care.

What Peach said was true- the egg was moving quickly in circles. It managed to come free of its blanket wrap and begin to fall to the floor.

"Grab it Mario! Grab it!" Trott cried to the egg's closest observer, and Mario made a lunge for the egg.

He was a second too late.

The egg hit the ground hard, and there was a loud crack. Everyone cringed, and Mario hit the ground with his fist in frustration. "I'm sorry Luigi..."

"Oh no... what if it died!?" Luigi moaned, falling to his knees and crawling to the egg, which was cracked on its side. Slowly, he reached out one of his hands, which was without its usual white glove, and lifted it.

Only a few seconds thereafter, a piece of the shell came loose in his hand. A tiny arm reached out from the hole, then another crack was heard. The dragon's head poked out of the enlarged hole and looked up at Luigi with bright purple eyes. It squeaked loudly.

Luigi smiled behind his mustache. "He's alright..."

Luigi lowered the egg and dragon so the others could see. With everyone staring at it, Luigi was also afraid he would become scared of entering the world with so many people watching. Was he frightened?

"Come on, little guy..." Whispered Trott. "Its okay..."

The tiny creature crawled out of the egg. It shook its body, which was wet from being inside the egg, and squeaked miserably.

"Go get a cloth, please." Mario told Peach. She nodded and left hurriedly, then returned a few moments later with a small washcloth.

While Luigi held the creature, which was about as big as his hand, Peach dried it off, revealing its true color.

Its scale color was a vibrant jade green, and it had a purple, leathery underside. A few purple stripes were seen on its shoulders. Under each of its eyes was a purple triangle, which made it look dressed with warpaint.

"He's adorable," Peach smiled. "Hey, there, little guy!" She cooed, reaching out a hand to touch it.

It stared at her finger, then opened its mouth, and grabbed it. Peach yelped, but soon realized that with it being toothless, it didn't put a scratch on her. It began sucking her finger.

"I guess this means he's hungry," Peach said.

"What do baby dragons eat?!" Luigi began panicking. "Oh, we should've prepared ahead! What do baby dragons eat!? Where do they sleep!? Do they need a blanket!? How are they housebroken? How long do they live? This is maddening!"

"Well I know what baby Paratroopas eat, if that helps..." Trott interrupted Luigi, who was now rambling mindlessly.

"We could try..." Luigi said.

"The best thing for them to eat is a formula of these ingredients: ordinary old milk, chopped fried mushrooms, and lettuce."

"Are you serious? That sounds... disgusting." Mario said with a grimace.

"Well, what else does a baby have to compare it to? It works, that's all I can say." Trott shrugged. "So, do you have these three things, and a blender?"

Luigi nodded. "We have fresh lettuce, and we always have mushrooms and milk."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Get to it!"

* * *

"Lord Growle?" 

Malice bowed at the feet of a gigantic dragon, which was an icy blue color, wearing a black cape. He gazed at his servant Malice with yellow eyes.

"Any news on the egg?"

"That's what I came here for, Sir. Ironclaw and I found the egg... but I'm afraid its guarded by a truly worthy adversary. His name is... er..." Malice fumbled. "Well, I can't quite remember... but-"

His voice was cut short by a deafening roar from Growle. "How do you expect us to FIND the egg if you don't know who HAS it!?"

"Sire, sire! I know the name of his brother!" Malice yelled quickly, throwing his hands over his head in self defense. "His name is Mario. He's a quiet fellow, popular in the Mushroom Kingdom. Everyone says he's a hero, saving everyone's lives and never asking for anything in return. Apparently he has a brother. And this brother found our egg! He gave us a beating he did, but not before we put a dent in his fragile frame."

"Why couldn't you finish him off?" Growle was fighting to keep his cool.

"He can muster the powers of thunder and lightning. Its as if he has lightning itself stored in his hands. His personality is a tad... wimpy... but he makes up for this with his will of thunder.

"I don't care if he's strong. He cannot hold against you, Ironclaw, and... and..." Growle's voice fell short, and he grinned. "I'm sending you and a few others in... these few others must be restrained with chains at all times, unless you unchain them near this 'man of thunder'."

"You're sending in the Mayhems?" Malice blinked, shuddering in his orange scales. "But... my lord... Ironclaw and I won't be able to lead them all the way to Mushroom Kingdom alone!"

"You will go along with Serphen, Zin, Malidor, and Reyva. That should be enough to keep you going. Three to each of our two Mayhems."

"When would you have the Mayhems safely chained?" Malice asked.

"Tomorrow morning they should be chained up." Growle turned his back on his minion to face his throne. It was a large stone chair decorated with crystals. Next to it, a young woman was lying on the floor, a chain on her ankle. She had tattered clothing, which was ice blue like Growle's scales.

"Did you hear this, Jennie dear? We're about to get my egg back." His cold voice was suddenly filled with a mocking warmth.

"Leave me alone, you viper!" The woman looked up at the great Dragon with fire in her eyes. "The Starbringers will not let you steal our salvation!"

"Shut up!" Growle raised his lip in a growl. "You are still alive because I was merciful on you, human! Besides, humans are rare beasts. Some day you'll be worth a lot of money.

"You are the beast here!" Jennie's green eyes met Growle's yellow ones. Her loose brown hair hung in front of her eyes. She was of average weight and wasn't considered extremely beautiful on human standards, but her eyes were clear like a starry sky.

"Whether you like it or not, the Mayhems are going out tomorrow. They will bring back the egg, or whatever hatched from it. They will kill this 'man of thunder' and his family!"


	4. Eve of the Mayhems

CHAPTER FOUR: EVE OF THE MAYHEMS

Surprisingly, Luigi and Mario were able to feed the baby dragon nothing but the formula that Trott had suggested. Three days had passed, and the dragon had already tripled in size and was now as long as Luigi's arm. It seemed to like the formula that Trott had suggested, and was doing well with two bottles a day.

That morning, Luigi, Mario, and Peach were sitting on the couch in the living room, the dragon in a large crib nibbling on its foot, when Mario spoke up.

"What are you going to name it?"

Luigi had been waiting for this question, and preparing for it. He had gone through many words, and the one he liked best stuck with him.

"Well," he began slowly, "I've always liked the world Aeolian. It basically means 'wind'. I think that this dragon will be a great flyer, so wind would be a good name for it, don't you think?"

"I think _it_ is a boy," Peach hummed. "The dragon just looks masculine to me."  
"What if it turns out to be a girl?" Mario asked. "I think Aeolian sounds a little feminine."

"I think it can go both ways," Luigi replied defensively, hoping that Mario wouldn't rule out his favorite word as a name. "Aeolian... do you think it sounds good, because I think it sounds good and it is my dragon, isn't it?" He spoke so fast it took Mario and Peach a while to process his words.

"Easy there, Luigi! We love the name." He turned to Peach, "Don't we, baby?" Mario gazed lovingly at Peach. She giggled at his term of endearment.

Luigi walked to the crib and looked down at Aeolian, whom he decided that it was a boy, for that moment at least.

"Well, do you like your name, Aeolian? I hope the Dragon Kingdom meant for me to name you."

The dragon looked up at Luigi and squeaked, showing a row of growing teeth. Aeolian grew so much that Luigi was sure that sometimes, if he watched it long enough, he could even _see_ it get bigger.

He reached his hand down to pet the dragon, something he did often, but he was not prepared for what happened next.  
The dragon, instead of allowing him to pet its head as it usually did, reached up and grabbed Luigi's hand with its own. He yelped at first, thinking that the dragon meant to pull him into the crib and eat him, but instead, he began to feel something happening.  
His brain told him to close his eyes, and he did. Then, a message from the Starbringer Dragon King came to him in the same way it did in his dreams earlier. Out of the shadows came a beam of light, and through the light, Luigi saw the white Starbringer Dragon.

"Very well done. You are taking care of him remarkably well."

"He's a boy?" Luigi asked.

"Yes. And he will like his name when he can comprehend human speech. I can communicate to you through my son, a thing most Dragons don't know how to do. But when I'm doing this I'm open to harm, and this is a dangerous thing for me to do, especially during this war we are in.

"My son Aeolian, as you've named him, will begin to comprehend your speech in a matter of days. He will grow to flight size in two weeks. But in order for him to be able to fly to our world, he must climb up the tallest mountain in your world, as Dragons can only fly for so long. You must find out where this mountain is and bring him there in two weeks, while protecting him from danger.

"I must warn you that the Moonshards have a secret weapon... and they will without doubt utilize it very soon. Their secret weapon is called a Mayhem, and they have two of these beasts. Our tribe has only seen them once, because they are so hard to manage even for the Moonshards, that they are a last resort in combat, but they are nevertheless the strongest creature in our world.

"A Mayhem is a gargantuan beast of deformed features and enormous power. It has four arms, three scythelike legs, and scales of iron. It usually weilds four different weapons, and uses its axelike tail to bring down trees and other structures that are in its way. This creature, since it was made by the Moonshards, doesn't have a mind. It is a machine, a thing that we Dragons dislike using. Machines are rather popular in your world, but in the Dragon Kingdom, everything we have is natural. But, the Moonshards are abusing machines they have seen other kingdoms use. They have built their own creatures- robots, they call them. But this robot is unstable, they have programmed them to attack anything, even themselves. Though Dragons can build things we sometimes don't understand our own work and do not think about the limitations of our projects. The Mayhems couldn't be disassembled by anyone, because anyone who got close to one was killed. They keep the monsters in a deep pit, and it takes a long time for them to chain them down to take them anywhere, and normally this process is with casualties.  
"Despite the Mayhem's apparent invincibility, they have multiple weaknesses. They are machines, and you are flesh. This is your advantage, as this is something the Mayhems don't have. Their weakness is-"

Suddenly, Luigi's eyes snapped open. The message ended!? He didn't know the Mayhem's weakness!  
"Wait, come back!" Luigi found himself staring into Aeolian's eyes.

"What happened, Luigi? You've been standing there for five minutes just holding the dragon's hand!" Mario asked, in a tone which made it sound as though he thought Luigi was absurd.

"I... I had another dream from the Starbringer's captain..." Luigi said. "He warned us of a creature called a Mayhem... and that it will probably attack us. He said that they have a weakness and it has something to do with us being human and them being machines, but... the message ended before I could get the rest of it..."  
Mario and Peach were silent for a moment, then said, "well, we have to trust that the Paratroopatroll knows what they're doing and can warn us before anything comes..."

Luigi looked down at Aeolian, then said, "I don't think I'm ready... the Starbringer's captain described them as an impossible creature... something that takes a lot to knock down."

"We've done the impossible so many times, Luigi! We can do it again." Mario said assuringly as he clenched his fist with determination. "I'm not afraid of any Mayhems."  
There was a short silence, then Luigi spoke again. "But I did get some good news... he said that in a few days Aeolian will start talking. Then in two weeks, he will become full size and he can fly. But when he grows to that size we need to go to the tallest mountain in Mushroom Kingdom so he can get enough altitude to make it to the Dragon Kingdom. I don't know where that is... do you, Peach?"

Peach hesitated, thought for a moment, then snapped. "The Sky Humblers! Its a range of mountains in the Shiver region! The tallest one is the Sky Tower, in the middle of the range. We could probably get to Shiver City by boat, then we can take a nice long hike to the Sky Humblers."

Luigi didn't seem to excited. "Oh, that sounds wonderful... a boat and then miserably low temperatures... my two least favorite things in the world... why couldn't Aeolian just fly us across the sea?"

"Do you think that it can fly all the way across the sea? Its a three day ride." Mario said. "The reason why we're going to the mountains in the first place is to give this dragon a good spot to take off, right? So he doesn't have to fly very far."  
"Oh, you're probably right," Luigi admitted, looking down at the ground. "But I guess we've done enough planning ahead... you're making me dread my future at the moment..." He slumped over to the couch and sighed. "Everything's been going wrong lately... I'm so lonely... and now I'm the one responsible for a whole clan of dragons."

Peach hugged Luigi. "Don't worry, this'll be over soon! And I'm sure you'll find someone that likes you soon. You just have to toughen up and show us picky women that you're interested in a wife."

Luigi sighed, "I know what I have to do... but I haven't seen anyone give me 'the look' yet... the only 'looks' I get are the 'oh, goodness, its the dorky Luigi, let's leave' look. That is, I get that from the ladies when I'm not saving any cities from the odd mishap..."

"Come on, Luigi, there has to be _someone_ out there that you can propose to." Mario said. "You're attractive! You can do this!"  
"Alright, Mario, name one person that looked even the _slightest bit_ interested in me!" Luigi whipped his arms out, expecting a blank answer from Mario.

"Um... well..." Mario swallowed. "Um..."

"Exactly," Luigi buried his face in his hands. "I'm a loser. I won't be married. Ever." Luigi and Mario were very close in age, in their early thirties, an age where many people got married.

"Why don't I make us some tea?" Peach asked, hastily changing the subject in an attempt to save whatever joy Luigi had left in him.  
"Sounds fine to m-" Mario's voice was cut short by a siren ringing in the distance.

"Oh no..." Everyone breathed.

The siren continued to sound, and then, screaming could be heard in the distance. Everyone in Mario's house stood stone-still, their breaths held. Unexpectedly, Trott burst through the door, breathing hard.

"Something's... coming... six creatures restraining two large mechanical devices... they look like robotic Koopas, but... they're unbelievably huge... they're coming to attack Toad Town!"

Luigi began shivering. "It...it's the... Mayhems..." He stammered. "I don't think we can-"

Mario cut him off. "Oh yes we can!" He grabbed Luigi by the backstraps of his overalls and then grabbed two hammers with one hand. "Trott, can you bring us our first aid mushrooms?" Mario asked over his shoulder as he was dragging the helpless Luigi outside. "Peach, can you guard Aeolian?"

Peach nodded and said with determination, "I'll make sure he stays safe."

They had made it out just in time to see the landing of six dragons and two gigantic machines. They could see the creatures in the distance, making a rumbling crash into the center of Toad Town.

"Hurry!" Mario began running, half-carrying, half-dragging Luigi along.

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"We're looking for someone! He wears a green hat! He's tall and timid, and holds the will of thunder!" Malice slammed his foot into the ground as he spoke. "If you do not send us this man, we will unchain these Mayhems and let them wreak havoc throughout your world!"

The frightened townsfolk at first said nothing. Fear gripped them, and now, the life of Luigi was at stake.

"We... we..." stammered the mayor of Toad Town, timidly stepping forward to the group of six dragons, whos scale colors created a perfect rainbow.  
There was a purple Dragon, Reyva, who wore an odd outfit which cannot be easily described by one seeing it. She had a yellow underside and scale decor. Next to her stood a blue dragon, Malidor, who wore a hooded robe and held a staff in one hand. His underside was orange. Zin, next to him, was green and purple. She wore a showy, vibrant outfit with a long skirt and puffy sleeves on her shirt. Next to her was Serphen, an overweight male yellow dragon with an empty expression. He did not wear a shirt, and he wore torn pants which came down to his ankles. His underside was blue. Next to him was the familiar orange and blue dragon Malice, and the red and yellow dragon Ironclaw next to him.  
All six of the dragons held two chains which were bonded around two screeching creatures, made entirely of metal. They somewhat resembled dragons, or koopas, and were much larger then any known species of either race. The chains were too tight for them to break, but once let loose, everyone knew they would cause more danger then they could ever repair.

"Speak up, you fool! Where is-" Malice's voice was cut short by a shot from behind him.

"Right over here!" Mario yelled. "You looking for me? Or him?" Mario shoved Luigi forward.

"You idiot." Malidor said with a growl. "You're practically giving us the egg. This is too easy."

"Mario..." Luigi muttered. "What do we do...? Those mayhems are huge!"  
Mario handed Luigi his hammer. "Everything has a weak spot, Luigi! Let's go!"  
They examined the Mayhems, who were screeching and opening their iron jaws wide. Mario and Luigi were both at a loss as to how to defeat the creatures, but they knew that they had to find a way, or else the world would be lost upon their defeat...

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A/N: Attack of the cliffhanger! Don't worry, I usually add one chapter a day so you'll figure out what happens tomorrow! Muahahaha!


	5. Eight Adversaries

---

A/N: A little story to those of you who care. I was playing Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga on my old GBA for the fun of it. It was plugged into the wall adaptor. I was lying on my electric blanket. I stood up to go turn off a light in my room, and ZAP! The finger closest to the outlet plug on my GBA was shocked, and my game reset itself! I thought it was a freak coinsidence so I sat back down. Then I got up again to adjust myself and ZAP! It happened again, and my GBA reset itself. I think I must've been generating static electricity by moving around, but... resetting the GBA?

This is freaky, isn't it? Does anyone know how this happened!? 

CHAPTER FIVE: EIGHT ADVERSARIES

"Run, everyone! Take cover!" Mario shouted to the terrified civilians, who were running in every direction, trying to avoid the eight creatures that had appeared from the sky.  
"Leave Mushroom Kingdom!" Mario shouted to the Mayhems and their holders.

"Leave?" Zin, the green dragon, giggled. She flew over to Mario, who stiffened. His grip tightened on his hammer. "Why would we want to do that? We're here for the dragon! And we won't leave until you give it to us, silly." Her voice was high pitched, but carried a menacing undertone.

"We're not giving you the egg..." Luigi managed to say. "Leave before someone gets hurt!"

"Oooh, a ferocious pair of plumbers. How terrifying." Malidor, the hooded dragon, sneered. "I suppose we should let the Mayhems go now, eh, Ironclaw?" His apathetic voice was dull and low.

"Alright, my emo friend!" Ironclaw said with a chuckle. "Let go of the Mayhems!"

Death broke free.

The creatures roared with menacing power, finally loose from their prison. One of them locked a glowing red eye on Luigi. Then, it charged. Its bulk was built of something shiny, something like armor. Luigi jumped to the left, but the creature deftly followed, not phased by the move. With a superhuman bound, Luigi jumped on top of the creature's arm, charged his hands with electricity, and stuck onto the creature, which was made of something magnetic, to Luigi's relief.  
He believed that the safest place to hide was right under the creature's nose. His method was working, to an extent. The creature shook itself and roared, trying to shake Luigi off. Then, it began running sideways towards a building. Its plan was to smash him. Luigi yelped and climbed up the creature's arm and jumped onto its neck, just when it smashed its shoulder into the wall of the local market. A spray of dust and bricks marked its landing.

"Luigi!"

Mario was being chased by the other creature. He was not as agile as Luigi, but he was hardier. Mario was shooting fireballs from his hands, but the balls of pure flame did not effect the creature even remotely.

"Help!"  
As Luigi was distracted, he didn't realize that the Mayhem he was sitting on had reached up and was making a grab for him. He yelped, sliding off of the creature's hard neck. He slid down its spine and landed hard on the ground. But fear fueled him, and he was able to shake off the tumble and dash to assist Mario.

He saw that the Mayhem that was attacking Mario was annoyed that it could not catch him. It crouched close to the ground, watching Mario with its red eyes.   
"Mario, what's your plan?!" Luigi yelled.

"I don't know!" Mario replied, breathing hard. "They seem to be made of something nearly impossible to break... I've encountered these types of creatures before... there's always something that works."

"We need to make them run into each other." Luigi suggested.

Mario seemed to have another idea.

"These creatures aren't real. They're machines. Therefore, there's something that's running them, something keeping them going. Something from the inside! If we can just find a way to get eaten by one without being killed, then we can find out how to shut it off from the inside!"

"Great idea! But-"  
Luigi had no time for questions. The two Mayhems were closing in for the kill.

Mario made a dash for the nearest Mayhem. His plan of action was, Luigi concluded, action. He followed Mario, unsure how Mario planned to get inside the creature.

"Luigi! I need you to help me get on top of it! Use your Lightning!"

Luigi nodded and made a leap for the mayhem. With one hand, he grabbed onto the creature, and the other, he created a step for Mario. His overweight brother jumped on top of Luigi's hand, expecting his brother to spring him up. Luigi strained under Mario's weight, then managed to push him up on top of the Mayhem's back.

From nearby, three of the dragons had left to search for the egg, while three others were supervising Mario and Luigi. Luigi noticed that Malice, Ironclaw, and the purple dragon Reyva had slipped away, leaving Zin, Serphen and Malidor.

He turned around to hear a shout from Mario. He was up on top of the creature's head, trying to get it to open its hinged mouth.

"Luigi! Any ideas?!"

Luigi shifted his gaze between Mario and the onlooking Dragons, who seemed ready to come in and assist the Mayhems.

"Hold on!"

Luigi began climbing to the top of the creature. It was roaring and bucking, its arms flailing. It was making every attempt it could to dispatch Mario and Luigi. Luigi held on tight to the top of the creature's head.  
"Alright, Mario!" He yelled. "Wait for it to roar! Then we'll dive inside!"

Both of them knew that they were risking everything. They could very well be jumping to their doom. But, it was the most logical plan they had, and the Mario Brothers had gotten themselves out of near death countless times. They could do it again.

The monster lifted its head and roared with anger. Mario slipped, and Luigi grabbed him.   
"Now!"  
Luigi flung his brother into the air. Mario grabbed onto the creature's upper lip, for its head was tilted to the sky. He then flipped inside the maw of the beast, somersaulting in midair. Luigi followed his maneuver, unsure what would befall them.  
From nearby, the dragons who were watching from a safe distance were flabbergasted.

"Hey! What just happened?!" Zin asked, her bubbly voice full of surprise.

"Nothing serious," Malidor said sarcastically, rolling his orange eyes. "Obviously they've not found a weak point!" His voice was growing with exaggerated enthusiam.

"There's no way we can stop them now," Serphen said, "Whatever they did, it'll either kill them or harm the Mayhem, one or the other with no exceptions." The bulky yellow dragon watched, a pale gleam in his purple eyes.

There was nothing they could do but watch, they were afraid of getting within striking distance of either of the Mayhems.

Meanwhile, Mario and Luigi tumbled down a metal shaft, which was a replica of an esophagus, screaming. Mario was first to hit the ground, and Luigi landed on top of him.

Mario moaned, crawling out from under his brother, and stood shakily. The monster, he could tell, was running around frantically.

"We're in the main chamber..." Mario said, his voice echoing throughout the beast. The whir of mechanics and gears was almost louder then his voice, so he had to speak loudly.

Luigi, who had just recovered from the fall, pointed to something in the center of the chamber. "Look! What's that?"

He was pointing to a small console, which appeared to be the central operating core. Wires were connected to it and were scattered around the room, which was lit by odd lights in the floor.  
Mario's expression was full of thought, then he blinked and gasped. "Luigi!" He grabbed his brother by the overall straps. Luigi yelped with surprise. Mario continued. "Do you know what this is!? This controls the monster! If we can figure it out..."

"...we can make it attack the other!" Luigi finished Mario's sentence with a smile.

Mario and Luigi staggered to the console, for the monster was shaking violently.

"All of these buttons... I don't know what to do!" Luigi was stumped.  
"We need to look at the wires on the floor!" Mario said. Look, this red wire connects to the red button. Its really thick. You follow the wire and tell me what part of the body it goes to. See those gears and joints all around here? See if you can make out the arms and legs!"

"Right!"

Luigi was soon running around the room, shouting to Mario what color wires went where. Soon, Mario was pressing buttons, and they could feel the beast moving in response.

"How do we tell where its going!?" Luigi asked.

"Now you need to climb up its throat and tell me what direction we're going!" Mario yelled.   
"I'm so glad I have a brother!" Luigi breathed to himself as he charged for the esophagus. He knew that if he didn't have Mario at his side, they would've never been able to cooperatively control the Mayhem.

Luigi found it difficult to begin climing up the narrow shaft, but soon, he was sliding his way up, with his back pressed to the wall. He soon was able to look out of the creature's open mouth. He could see that it was making its way sloppily towards a building.

"Left! Go left!" Luigi yelled to Mario. Soon, the beast began turning on one leg. He caught sight of his companion.

"Now! You're on target! Run forward!" Luigi screamed, his voice carrying down the shaft and into the chamber below.

The Mayhem charged forward. The other mayhem, seeing his should-be ally run for attack, took an offensive stance. Luigi gritted his teeth and purposely slid back down the shaft and into the chamber.

"The other one is attacking!"

"Now all we have to do is find a way out of here!" Mario yelled, just as a bone-rattling crash resounded through the chamber. Suddenly, a claw shot into the chamber from outside, causing a gaping hole, and barely missing Mario.

"Now's our chance! Let's bail out!"

Luigi was the first to jump out of the hole, and he was closely followed by Mario.

Both Mayhems were attacking each other. Soon they will have defeated each other.

The Mario Brothers collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath. Soon, they heard the three Dragons approaching.

"No time to rest, sorry." Zin giggled. She landed next to them, then breathed deeply, conjuring her fire breath.

"Luigi! Stand up!"

Mario grabbed Luigi and tossed him aside just as a green fireball collided with the ground where he used to be.

Mario somersaulted backwards, then regained his footing and grabbed a hammer from his belt. Luigi had assumed his stance, holding his own hammer.

"How did you think that through? You two are tough, for plumbers." Malidor frowned. "Serphen! Get over here and help us fight!"

Serphen hesitated. He scratched his head, then said, "Well, you know me. I'm out of shape. I think I'm gonna sit this one out."

"Lazy, good for nothing piece of crud with a..." Malidor began mumbling, the rest of his words lost under his breath. Mario didn't want to hear them, anyway. The robed Dragon then took his staff, said something unintelligible, and a blast of blue energy was shot at Mario with formidable speed.

Unable to dodge in time, Mario expected himself to be hit by the blast. But, Luigi appeared at his side, and using his hammer, he deflected the bolt and sent it back at Malidor. Expecting him to be hit by his own weapon, Luigi smiled. But, Malidor caught the bolt in his hand and it disappeared.

"Alright, Zin. Looks like the two of us will have to combine our powers!"

"It'll be a pleasure, my cute emo friend." Zin giggled.

"Zin, stop it! Just help me beat these goons!"

Malidor and Zin charged. Serphen stood back, watching the Mario brothers curiously.

As Mario and Luigi began fighting, Serphen slipped away unnoticed.

The battle lasted for thirty minutes. The Mayhems were nothing but piles of trash. Malidor and Zin were left breathing hard, and were now at the mercy of the Mario Brothers.

Mario and Luigi themselves were not without injuries. Luigi was grabbing his left arm, a pained expression on his face. His hat was burned. A few open cuts in his clothes showed gaping wounds. Mario walked with a limp, and there was a purple bruise around his eye. His overalls hung at an awkward angle, for one of the straps was broken.

"You're stronger then you look, mustache men." Zin swallowed. "Are you going to kill us?"

"No." Mario said, yet there was still fire in his eyes. "I want you to leave, and tell your leader that the baby is ours, and we will take care of him until he goes to your world to restore peace."

Malidor huffed, blowing smoke from his nostrils. "Merciful little idiots. They're just going to let us go where we can regroup. Where did that useless, good for nothing Serphen run off to?"

Malidor rose shakily to his feet, leaning heavily on his staff. "Come on, Zin, you idiot."

Zin crawled to her toes, then she and Malidor left into the forest.

Not long afterwards, Trott appeared. "I know where they're going. We interrogated one of the dragons that attacked Peach and the troops. They leave here by going to the Sky Tower in the Shiver region. That takes a week to get to. Then they just drop out of the sky when they need to attack us. We're not sure when their next attack will be, but judging by the time Luigi was attacked to this moment, that would be about a two weeks. Anyway, Peach is safe now and the baby is fine."

"That means that their next attack will be in two weeks, if they want to attack us then..."

"And that's exactly when our dragon comes of age!" Mario replied. "It can help us fight, if we teach it."

"And, we can leave right after Mushroom Kingdom is protected from the next assault!" Trott replied. "We will stay on strict duty at all times."  
Trott then saw the wreckage of the dead Mayhems.

"You defeated them, as I knew you would. Great job. You two do so much for the Mushroom Kingdom, and we never have anything to repay you with."

"Yes you do. We have the joy of living here in peace, and seeing our friends safe." Mario replied. "There is no other kingdom I'd rather be then here."

He limped forward, then turned to Luigi. "Come on. We have a baby to take care of."

They left to their home to lick their wounds.


	6. A Moment of Calm: Aeolian's Days

CHAPTER SIX: A MOMENT OF CALM: AEOLIAN'S DAYS

A/N: Soon I will go back to previous chapters and rewrite some of the descriptions of the Six Dragons. I recently drew them all in a fullcolor picture and changed their outfit designs. Sometime soon I'll scan it. But I'll need to give them better descriptions since I drew them. Now I know exactly what they look like. :3 I admit I'm not the best descriptive writer.

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"I think its about time we moved Aeolian up to something a little bigger to eat," Suggested Mario as he watched Aeolian drain the fifth bottle of formula that day. "He's always hungry, and his teeth have grown in a lot since yesterday."

His and Luigi's wounds were treated and bandaged by the local doctor, who discovered that Mario had broken his foot, and Luigi had fractured his arm, above all other minor injuries. The misfortune would slow them down, but not enough to give up.

"Hey, little guy, are you hungry?"

Aeolian looked up at Luigi.

"Hun-gry." Luigi drew out his words, trying to see if he could get Aeolian to understand him. The dragon had said one word before: Luigi. It was the only word Aeolian knew, and he used it a few times.  
"Luigi." Aeolian squeaked.

"Yes, that's _my_ name." Luigi motioned to himself with his good hand. He then pointed to his dragon, "_Your_ name is Aeolian."  
Aeolian smiled. "Aeolian!"  
Luigi grinned. "Yes!"

Aeolian bounced in his cage, grinning, and showing a row of sharp teeth. "Aeolian! Hungry!"

"Yes! Yes! Good job!" Luigi was growing even more excited. "Mario! He's so smart! He's learning so many new words!"

"Mario!" Aeolian yelled.

Mario entered the scene as fast as his tattered body could carry him. "Excellent work, Luigi!"

"I'm not doing anything in particular, I'm just talking to it," Luigi said. "It picks up on things so fast." He turned to the dragon, then said, "do you want some meat? Are you ready for meat?"

Aeolian cocked his head.

Peach suddenly entered the room, holding a plate of chicken strips. "I heard you talking about feeding the dragon, so I thought that it may like to try this."

Luigi took one of the strips, muttering a thank you, then held it over Aeolian's head.

"Do you like the smell of this?"

He lowered it slowly, and without warning, Aeolian jumped and clamped its jaws down on the piece of meat and devoured it in moments. Luigi jerked back with a yelp.

"I think he likes it!" Mario said. "Let's put some more in there."

Mario and Luigi both dropped the meat into the cage, and one by one, Aeolian took each and ate until he was full, and left the last piece of meat uneaten. He curled up and closed his eyes. Thinking he was done, Mario and Luigi turned to continue their mundane tasks. Just as they were about to exit the living room, the heard Aeolian say in his usual shrill voice, "thank you, Mario and Luigi!"  
They froze.

"A full sentence!" Luigi grinned and nudged his brother. "He's getting good, isn't he?"

"Your welcome, Aeolian." Mario called with a chuckle.

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The next day, Mario and Luigi let Aeolian out of the pen, as they did regularly. The young dragon began waddling around the room, picking up objects in his versatile fingers and holding them up to an exhausted Luigi.

"What's this?"

"That's a book."

"What does it say?"

"Well, it doesn't talk like we do, but it has words in it. Words that you read."

"Read?"

"Its kind of hard to explain..." Luigi closed his eyes as he leaned back in his green couch. He and Mario were always on their toes keeping up with the dragon, and after the battle, both of them were sore and tired. He used to be excited every time Aeolian said a new word, but now, he wished he heard less of it. Aeolian was one talkative dragon.

"Show it to me." Luigi motioned for Aeolian to come.

The dragon was almost as big as Luigi was, so the pen was becoming less adequate of holding him. Soon, they would have to build him a dragon house for outside.

Aeolian handed Luigi the book and looked over his shoulder. Luigi opened it and showed Aeolian a page. "See those things on it? Those are letters. They're like what we say out loud except they're written. This is a cool thing because we can read what other people wrote a long time ago. It sort of immortalizes our voice."

"Im-mor-tal-ize?" Aeolian struggled over the new word.

"It makes it last forever."

"This book is about two friends on an adventure to dig up buried treasure." Luigi says, "It was one of my favorite books when I was younger. I would read it over and over. Some books tell stories, things that never really happened. Its fun to see what a writer makes in books."

"I don't think I get it." Aeolian frowned.

"I guess its kind of complicated at first." Luigi sighed. "Some day you'll get the hang of it."

There was a short silence.

"Luigi?"

"Yeah?"  
"My daddy's out there, isn't he? I keep getting these thoughts from him. He keeps telling me that everything's going to be okay, and you're going to take care of me until I get to the Dragon Kingdom. But what will I do? I know I have to save my people. But how do I do it? Is this the kind of thing that people immortalize in books?"

"Yes, actually, it is." Luigi smiled. "I've had a book or two written about me. Mario's had more, of course... but it feels great when you're in a story that people all around the world read. As for the Dragon Kingdom... I don't know what you'll do. All I know is you can do it, and I believe in you." He smiled behind his mustache. "You're a tough little dragon. And in a few weeks, you'll be a tough big dragon and nothing can stand in your way."

Somehow, Aeolian didn't seem encouraged. He was afraid of his fate.

"Don't worry. Really. If you won't be able to protect yourself, you can count on your friends. Mario, Peach and I will be right by your side, and everyone will be willing to help you."  
"But why help me?"

"Because we want to help your kingdom from the bad people."

"Why is there bad people?"

Luigi sighed. The conversation just became very deep. "Well, there are some people who are very selfish and greedy. They will make other people get hurt so they can get powerful, or luxuries, or wealth. These people lower others to raise themselves. Though they may seem stronger, they really are hurting. Because they are missing something that we have."

"What is that?"

"A tight bond with our friends and family. Compassion. Love. And many other good things that these bad people cast aside. But, remember this, Aeolian: Bad people can become good if they find good things in life. Bad people can become good if they find love for others, and putting aside their own personal desires to aid people."

"I see," Aeolian smiled. "So I can make the bad people become good?"  
"Well..." Luigi looked down. "Not all bad people become good. Some of them are stubborn and they will never change. Sometimes you have to beat them and lock them up, because they may never change. But when they do, we need to show them mercy and put aside what they have done to us. This is what good people do. When bad people become good... this is called redemption."

"Redemption..." Aeolian mused. "So I am the one that pulls together the two clans, and helps redeem the bad guys?"

"You alone can't redeem, but you can be a positive influence. Its their own choice. But I can tell you one thing- you will unite the clans. But I'm sure we'll figure out more of how you'll do this when we actually make it to the Dragon Kingdom."

Aeolian looked determined, afraid, and anxious all at once. The world was large, and hateful, and cruel. But, there were things in the world that he would gladly fight for. He would fight for his friends and family, and restore balance to the Dragon Kingdom.  
"Thank you Luigi." Aeolian said, then walked to a blanket on the rug in the center of the room and curled up on it to rest.  
Luigi smiled. "Until that time..." his voice was then drowned in thoughts, and his thoughts were drowned in unconsciousness as he fell into a deep sleep.

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"Growle..."

"_Why_ do you walk before me in _such_ a _condition_!?" Growle stamped his foot with rage. "Who has defeated the Mayhems?! How!?"

He shot a glare of firey rage at his six servants, who were trembling at his feet. Four of them were bruised and beat. Serphen and Reyva, however, appeared unscathed.  
"They're so strong..." Zin coughed. "They found a way to get inside the Mayhems and control them from the inside. They made the Mayhems fight each other. Somehow, they escaped and then attacked us. And they have allies... so many allies..."

Growle, containing his rage, whirled around. "That dragon must be captured or killed as soon as possible... preferrably captured, and brought here. We must destroy those Mario Brothers before they cause us any more pain! But we need allies ourselves. You six are my best warriors, and now, the strongest beasts of the Moonshards have been defeated! We must infiltrate the Mushroom Kingdom and hire anyone willing to help. Do you know of anyone?"  
"Bowser of the Koopas. And his sons." Malidor replied almost instantly. "I've read about him. He's failed in almost every attempt to defeat Mario, but he's strong, and so are his sons. If we can hire him, and if he stands with the dragons, we might have a chance."

Growle seemed as though he would refuse. But, he thought for a moment. Not even the Mayhems could beat Mario, so he wasn't surprised that Bowser couldn't either. Just how strong was this Koopa?

"In your next landing, go quietly. I want you to find out everything you can about this Bowser. Hire him if he seems adequate, because we have no time to waste in sending scouts to report messages to me. I trust you, Malice, know what you're doing the best out of the six of you."

"Yes sir." Malice saluted.  
"Now begone! Tend to your injuries and I want you out of here as soon as possible!"  
The six left, and Growle sat down on his stone chair. He then looked down at the maiden at his feet, who was his slave. She did everything from rubbing his back, to feeding him, to telling him stories.

"You monster... you won't ever defeat the Mario Brothers..." Jennie said, gritting her teeth. "I have faith in them..."

Growle chuckled. "You'll be best if you put your faith elsewhere, my little worm. They are nothing but plumbers. We shall flick them away like the bugs they are!"


	7. Alliances

CHAPTER SEVEN: ALLIANCES

A/N: I drew a semi-realistic drawing on my big paper today, of Luigi and Aeolian's portraits. I should scan it soon but I don't feel like it right now. Anywho I also composed Aeolian's theme. But yeah. You won't be hearing it, because the least thing I want in the world is my original music being stolen.

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A week had passed, and the Mario Brothers had erected a large outdoor house for Aeolian, who had now grown twice Luigi's size. His once tiny wings were now twice the length of his own body, yet were still not strong enough to support flight. In another three days, Luigi knew, Aeolian would be ready to fly.

As he was just going to head outside to check on the dragon, there was a sudden knock on the door. Luigi quickly opened it, unsure who he would find. When he saw who it was, he became afraid- it was Trott, and it could only mean bad news.

"There's been another foreign entrance, Luigi...and it is two dragons from the Moonshards."

"What should we do? Do we fight?!" Luigi quickly stammered.

"No, actually, this dragon said that they mean us no harm... in fact, they said that they would like to see you in the city to negotiate something. I don't trust them one bit, but the fact that they want to talk with you in the city in the center of attention is lead enough to let me give them the all clear. I don't know about you, but though I don't trust them I don't think they want to harm you."

Luigi was reluctant. "Are you sure they can't hurt me?"

"With all of us watching, they don't stand a chance if they lay a finger on you."

"Alright, I'll go. Mario is still asleep though, its nine o'clock and he usually sleeps until ten."

"Let's let him sleep. Come on, Luigi!"

Trott and Luigi left. Luigi quickly checked on Aeolian, who was munching a drumstick in his sleep. He smiled at the dragon and ran to catch up with Trott, who didn't wait for him.

He soon found himself walking down Toad Town's busy streets. The citizens were walking casually, starting their days and going to work. The scent of freshly brewed coffee carried from the local coffee shop, making Luigi's mouth water, but he knew there were more important things to do.

He followed the Paratroopa, who was hovering quickly as if he was late. Luigi followed him then to the center of town, where two Dragons stood calmly in the midst of a group of local soldiers, their spears pointed at the dragons.

Neither dragon carried a weapon. There was a short, fat one that Luigi had seen earlier. Next to him was a dragon he hadn't observed closely. She was much taller then the yellow one she stood next to. She wore blue clothing, including a shirt with thick sleeves and long pants. She wore a necklace with a crescent moon. Her scales were purple with an alternate color of yellow.

"Hello, Luigi." She gave a short bow when she saw him approach. "My name is Reyva. That is my brother Serphen."

Luigi nodded. "Why are you here? You do realize that the Mushroom Kingdom sees you as the enemy."

"Yes, we are fully aware of that. And I doubt you will trust us which is perfectly fine. But I want you to know that neither Serphen nor I have taken part in any of our leader's missions, though we go with the others to them. Our king suspects us highly now, so soon we will be kicked out of the Moonshards anyway. You see Serphen and I are actually double-agents for the Starbringers. And, an ally of the Starbringers is also our ally, whether you decide to believe us or not."  
She reached up and tore the moon necklace off. Her brother, who also had one, did the same.

"This necklace is a symbol of our servitude to the Moonshards. We're removing it now, to show you that we truly don't work for the leader. You see, every Moonshard necklace is enchanted. One who is a true follower of the king, Growle, cannot remove the necklace. But, we can, because we don't follow Growle."

She put the necklace back on, and so did Serphen.  
"I want you to know what Growle is up to. He's going to hire someone by the name of Bowser, and everyone under his command, to help them defeat you. I am not sure where and when he will attack, but you must be prepared for any moment. You'll be charging into the heart of his territory soon, when you bring the dragon to the mountains."  
Reyva stopped talking, to see if Luigi had any response.

"I... thank you... I guess." Luigi was confused. "Why did you tell me all of this?"

"Because I'm not who you think I am. I'm on your side, Luigi. But I know it will be hard for you to accept that. Serphen and I will be going now. Stay on your toes, and be careful."  
Reyva and Serphen began walking, and the guards followed them to make sure they got out of the town without harming anyone.  
"Well," Trott clicked his tongue. "That was... strangely pleasant. A nice bit of information, don't you think? We should go tell Mario!"  
"Why would Growle hire someone like _Bowser_?" Luigi shook his head. "I don't see why anyone would be interested in hiring Bowser. Mario and I have beat him so many times, he has no new tricks up his sleeve. I'm a little suspicious." 

"Let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing..." Growle breathed to an unseen darkness. "That is what I have always known."

He sat in his throne. "That is why I have called you here."

There was a howl of wind in the room, despite being indoors.

"Whilest the Mario Brothers are expecting Bowser, they will not be prepared for this. You have the element of surprise, my friend- something that is vital in a time like this."

Through a howl of wind, Growle could hear a word. "Yessssss..."  
"Now, rally your own army, and go." 


	8. Captain Briney

A/N: I often use little stars for spacers, and what really bugs me is FF refuses to incorperate the stars into fanfics, so I end up having one scene and all of the sudden, another. Sorry about the mixups:P In this case it was Luigi and then all of the sudden, Growle. There's an imaginary spacer there. :P

Anywho, thank you for the reviews. I'm glad you all like the story and if you are reading this and have an account, please review! It won't take too long just to let me know you like it so I have more inclination to continue. Then again you don't have to, but you know... the whole reason why writers post their things here is to get input. Even if you hate it let me know why! Anyway there's terrible Luigi angst-ish moments coming up in the later chapters, so be prepared.

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CHAPTER EIGHT: CAPTAIN BRINEY

"Are we all packed?" Luigi asked as he shut his own, dark green suitcase. He then took a backpack and fastened it atop his shoulders. He and his family had packed the essentials: hygiene tools, a few pairs of heavy, warm clothing, and medical supplies.

"Yes, I am." Mario took both his and his wife's suitcases, which were red and pink respectively. "What's up with the backpack, Luigi? Is that all for Aeolian?"

"Some of it, yeah." Luigi replied, then looked down at his boots sheepishly with a blush. "Some of it... just a little... you know... medicine."

"For what?"

"Oh... well, you know..." His voice trailed into silence as he spoke. He adjusted his hat, then said, "I uh, don't do so well on boats."  
"Ah. You brought yourself some ginger."

"Yeah."

"Don't worry, Luigi. It won't be too bad. You'll be fine!" Mario said cheerfully. "The worst that could happen is you'll starve. But I don't think it'll be too bad."  
"We'll just have to pray for fair weather." Though cheerful at times, Luigi was often seen as the brother who looked at the dark side of things more then Mario. But most of the time, his cup was neither half full nor half empty. Sometimes he couldn't decide.

"What's wrong, Luigi? What are you talking about?" Aeolian asked, poking his head through the open window. Mario had left it open to let in the sunny morning air, but also to let Aeolian hear their plans. He was now too big to fit through any man-sized doorways. He was a little over three times the size of Luigi, and his wingspan was enormous.

"Luigi gets seasick," Mario explained. "You've never been or seen sick, have you?"  
Aeolian shook his head.

"He'll figure out soon enough, unfortunately." Luigi muttered. "It kind of like when someone gets hurt, except it doesn't have to do with bleeding or breaking bones. Its something they don't like being and makes them feel bad in the head and tummy."

"I don't think I understand." Aeolian sighed.

"Oh, its alright, I don't think you want to feel sick ever, so I hope you never find out what its like."  
"Okay." Aeolian accepted the answer. Though curious, he was able to let things that he couldn't understand go.

"We will make it to the docks in a few hours on foot." Peach told Aeolian. "By the way, Luigi, have you ever seen if Aeolian can be ridden yet?"

Luigi shook his head. "I'm kind of scared to try."

"I can pick you up and carry you easy!" Aeolian smiled. "But I haven't tried to fly with someone on my back yet."

A day earlier, Aeolian had been practicing his flying skills by climbing trees and jumping off. He began clumsily, but he was able to steadily gain control of his flight and soon he even learned how to take off from the ground and fly a short distance. He tired quickly, however, and Luigi was unsure that even climbing the tallest mountain in the Mushroom Kingdom would be enough liftoff to help Aeolian rise to the sky, wherever the Dragonrealm was.  
"Hey, Aeolian, have you gotten any subconscious messages from your dad yet, explaining the location of the Dragonrealm?"

Aeolian blinked, then perked. "Oh! I completely forgot to tell you! Last night my dad told me that Dragonrealm is a floating island so high in the sky that no one from ground can see it. The only way to get there is to fly from the mountain, and only dragons can enter through the atmosphere. He had to explain to me what an atmosphere was. He said that the island is not in space but it has its own atmosphere separate from the Mushroom Kingdom. He also said that anyone riding me can also make it through unharmed."

"That sounds amazing!" Mario smiled. "I can't wait to see what kind of place it looks like up there. What kind of plants are there? What are the people like? We've seen pretty diverse dragons but they were all enemies."  
"Well, not exactly. Remember what I told you about Serphen and Reyva? I think I trust them a little, but one can never be too cautious." Luigi pointed out.  
Mario glanced at an old grandfather clock in the room, then yelped. "Agh! We're late! Come on!"

He dashed out the door, followed hastily by Peach and reluctantly by Luigi. Aeolian was right behind them, gazing over their heads as he walked with each thump of his gigantic feet. The four-legged, green and purple dragon towered over them, and seemed that he could easily carry all three of them anywhere.

"How are we going to fit you on the boat, Aeolian?" Peach asked in her sweet, high-pitched voice.

Aeolian shrugged. "I don't know."

"We have to find some way," Luigi said. "We have to hope that you don't weigh too much. How much do you weight, anyway? If dragons need to fly, then you have to weigh something small, wouldn't you think?"  
"Well, there's nothing we can do now. We can test it out when we get to the docks."

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The smell of seawater enriched the senses of the four travelers as they stood on the wooden plank walkways of the docks. Seagulls perched on posts in the water, squawking loudly amongst themselves about todays gossip, or whatever birds talk about. Aeolian stared at the white birds with fascination, clicked his tongue, and sent them flying away in a panic.

Mario pointed to a small, but hardy looking boat which was docked near a pier. "That's it, that's ours!" He said with excitement.

The captain, a weathered old Toad, stroked his beard and pointed at Aeolian. He had a spotted mushroomish head, and his spots were blue. "He's bigger then I last saw 'im. How much he weigh?"

Aeolian approached the boat and put one foot on the deck. The boat refused to sway. He then pulled his entire bulk atop the boat, and the craft did little more then creak.

"Amazing! Remarkable!" Luigi exclaimed with a smile, "Aeolian doesn't appear to weigh enough to make the boat sink!"

"In fact I don't think 'e weighs that much at all." Said the captain, climbing aboard his vessel. "The _Blue _Crusader... 'tis a firm passenger craft, and usually gives this reaction when my slightly... heavier... Toad guests want a cruise. I'd be guessing that this Aeolian weighs no more then two hundred pounds."

"Wow!" Peach was wide-eyed, "that's just not right! Look at him! He's three times the size of Mario!"  
"You're full of surprises, Aeolian!" Mario chuckled.

"Well, all aboard!" The captain said. "My name is Briney. Some people call me Old Captain Briney, but anything would do just fine."

Mario and Peach boarded the vessel, with Luigi climbing on hesitantly.  
"By the way, my brother here gets seasick pretty bad." Mario explained to Briney, "so if you have any methods of conquering this, tell him if you want."

Luigi managed a sheepish smile at the captain. "I'm fine now, but... when the water gets rough..."  
"Ye'll be fine, just concentrate on the horizon and think of other things. Try to imagine yourself walking on stable grounds and you'll get used to it. Heck, I'm _too_ used to it myself, every time I get on land I feel landsick! I can't walk strait without the feel of the rolling wood beneath my feet. Ah, how I love the sea!" Briney spoke as he walked back to his wheel.  
"Now you'll find your cabins in that room over there." He pointed to a houselike structure standing on the deck, "there's three rooms. My 'pologies do the dragon, but none of the rooms are quite big enough for you."  
"That's okay," Aeolian said cheerfully, "I'll sleep on the deck."

"We have three days ahead of us. The cook'll make all ye foodstuffs, and you can rest in your cabins anytime ye want. Ye should know that tempearatures, they be droppin', so get yer coats on and bundle up as we approach the Shiver Region." He then added with a chuckle, "_Shiver_ me timbers!"

With that, the boat set off, and Luigi immediately found himself at the railing.

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	9. Of Fire and Rage

CHAPTER NINE: OF FIRE AND RAGE

The day was a torturous experience for Luigi. As soon as they had made it out of the bay and into the rolling waves of the sea, he threw up every so often, despite the helpful advice he was given by Captain Briney. Aeolian, who watched him with more fascination then compassion, was still unsure what was wrong with him, but he could sense discomfort.

Mario and Peach were having a pleasant experience, however. They walked laps around the deck, talking to each other and reflecting on past events in-between visits to Luigi, who stayed at the same place. Each time they saw him, his face appeared to be a color very similar to his hat and shirt.

On their routine visit to him, Mario patted his brother's back and asked, "so, did you try any of that ginger you brought?"

"I... I'm saving it for later..." his voice was noticeably weaker then usual. "I'm afraid I didn't bring enough..."

"Why don't you have some now? You'll feel better." Peach told him gently.

"I was thinking about it..."

The boat was hit by a wave at an awkward angle, and he gagged. "I can't take much more of this..." he said after gathering himself, "I'm pathetic... no wonder I can't find myself a girl."

"Lots of people have problems on boats." Mario said encouragingly. "Well, I'll leave you be. Let's go to the cook and find us something to eat, Peach. You can come if you want, Luigi, but... I'm not sure its the best idea for you to eat right now."

"Yeah, you're right..."  
"I'll stay here," Aeolian said. "I'm not hungry."

"How can you not be?" Peach asked. "You haven't eaten since this morning."

"Yes I have. I caught a fish."

"You did? How?" Mario asked curiously.

"I saw one jump out of the water so I grabbed it. Is that okay?"  
"Well, yeah, but its hard to catch a fish." Mario replied, rubbing his chin. "So did you like it?"

"Yeah, it tasted kind of salty. I like salt."

Mario and Peach exchanged glances. "So that's why the whole can of salt went missing yesterday..." She muttered. "Well, see you later Aeolian. Keep an eye on Luigi, okay?"

"Sure!" Aeolian replied with a smile. "But I don't think he'll be going anywhere anytime soon." He looked over his shoulder at Luigi, who was hunched over the railing. "Have fun, Mario and Peach."

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On the second day, temperatures had dropped dramatically. Though now miserable from the cold, at least Luigi had finally gotten over his seasickness by drinking a special ginger tea prepared by the cook, at least for the time being. He and his family were all inside Mario's cabin room, shivering within blankets and staying together to keep warm. Poor Aeolian had to stay outside in the freezing temperatures, but he was kept company by Captain Briney.  
Luigi, who was wrapped in his green blanket and sitting on the floor in the cabin, was worried about Aeolian. He wondered if dragons produced their own heat. If they didn't, Aeolian would be in a rough spot if he stayed in the cold too long.

Luigi stood up, adjusted his hat, and exited the cabin, leaving Mario and Peach, who didn't bother to ask where was going.

He walked outside, only to find Briney petting Aeolian's head. The large Dragon shivered when he saw Luigi.

"Its so cold..." Aeolian frowned. "I can't get warm..."

"Agh, this 'ere dragon cannot stand the temperatures." The captain sighed and shook his head. "We need to figure out some way of warming him up."

"I think I brought some fire flowers," Luigi said. "Maybe if he eats one, he can feel better."  
"Hmm.. good idea," Briney tapped his chin. "But wouldn't that burn him?"  
"Its too cold to be burned, I think." Luigi turned to leave, but then stopped to ask, "How close are we to the Shiver Region?"  
"Ahh, very close. In just a day we'll be dockin' and unloadin' the cargo."

"Thanks."

He disappeared, and soon afterwards returned holding a strange flower in his gloves. The plant, which was a vibrant red, seemed to glow with an internal heat.  
"Here, Aeolian. Eat this. It'll burn at first, but it should warm up your entire body. I've done it a few times. I don't like how it feels but hits helpful when I need it."

Aeolian didn't seem to care about the consequences of eating a fire flower. He took the plant and devoured the entire specimen. He then shot a breath of fire into the sky, then said, "Yeeeouch! It burns!"  
His scale color seemed to fluctuate between white and green, then after a puff of smoke, he sighed and said, "Aaah... sweet relief! Thanks, Luigi..." After a moment, he said, "hey... I think that fire flower triggered something."

He then purposely shot another fireball into the sea from his mouth. "Wow!" he said with a grin, "The fire flower opened my fire chambers! Now I can breathe fire! I always wondered how I could figure it out... Dad told me that every dragon opens his fire chambers a different way."  
He turned to Luigi and grinned. "I won't be cold anymore. Dragons, Dad told me, are cold blooded but when our fire chambers work, we make our own heat!"

"Yes!" Luigi jumped for joy. "That's amazing! Good job, Aeolian! So dragons all breathe fire? Interesting!"

"Hey, you're the one who helped me," The dragon nudged Luigi lightly, but still managed to make him stumble. "I'll be fine out here now. Don't worry about me and go get some rest. You've been up all last night with that seasickness of yours."

"Yeah, I am kind of tired... and for some reason, I feel fine now. Just a-ok." He smiled sheepishly. "Well... see ya."

Aeolian curled up on the deck and closed his eyes, relieved at his new discovery. At last, he could breathe fire! The cold will be no match for him now.

Or would it be?

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The third day passed slowly. Mario, Luigi, and Peach were rarely outside due to the extremely cold temperatures. Briney, as the captain, stayed outside most of the time, telling them what Aeolian said when he made his rounds back to the cabins. Aeolian, he reported, was not complaining about the cold, but was complaining about some sort of wind that he was hearing.

Peach was dressed in her heavy pink coat, and wore many layers of clothing. Luigi and Mario were both wearing layered clothing under their trademark overalls. They were ready for Shiver City, and the Shiver Region too. They were in their cabin, awaiting Briney to give his routine checkup.

The old toad knocked and entered, then began talking about what Aeolian had said recently.  
"He describes it as an unnatural howl," Briney tapped his chin. "He said the wind seemed like it wasn't coming from the air. He said it makes him afraid, whatever it was."

"A strange wind?" Peach hummed. "Well, Reyva did tell us that Growle was going to hire Bowser to find us. Do you think Bowser found a new weapon? Or is it just the wind?"

"I'm not sure..." Mario said, and began pacing. "Why would this dragon hire Bowser? What if Reyva was trying to trick us? I don't see what harm it could do by telling us that we are going to be ambushed by someone other then Bowser."

"But whatever it is, Aeolian hasn't found it." Luigi said. "So we should be fine, right? I mean, we should't be afraid of something that isn't there... we should only fear when it makes itself seen..."

"You didn't end that very optimistically," Mario grimaced. "Lighten up, Luigi. We're about to see another world!"

"Like we haven't seen enough of those," Luigi sighed.

"Oh, you suck the life out of everything, Luigi. Why don't you go and get seasick again? You were more optimistic then." Mario muttered.  
"Why don't _you_ go lose some weight?!" Retaliated his brother angrily.

"You know what that L on your hat stands for?! Loser!"  
"That M stands for Moron!"

"I'm sick of you!"  
"I'm glad YOU'RE the one who's sick now!"

"Go eat a Yoshi!"

"QUIET!"

The last voice belonged to Princess Peach. Luigi had never seen her so angry before. He quickly cowered away from Mario, for he had found himself standing over his short brother with his chest puffed.

"We can't just stand here and argue! The boat will be arriving in Shiver City very soon and we need to be wary of what Aeolian saw. Let's not give him the benefit of the doubt- if he thinks there's something wrong we better believe it! Now get your heads together, kiss and make up, and let's pack our stuff."

The brothers exchanged glances, first of anger, then their shoulders dropped and they both gave a grimace and a weak smile, suggesting the thought of 'sorry about that, we really lost it back there.'

"Well, I'm already packed." Luigi said quietly. "Um... sorry, Mario."

"Yeah... sorry too." Mario replied, looking down at the ground. "I didn't mean to blow up like that."

"Its my fault too. I shouldn't have encouraged you by carrying on."

"No, its my fault."  
"No, its mine."

"Luigi, its _my_ fault!"  
"Mario, you know I was the one who-"

"Okay, okay, you're both sorry!" Peach cried out. "Now come on, let's pack up."


	10. Crystelle of Ice

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A/N: Next up on my list of things to do for this fanfiction is to draw a scene from every chapter. I've got Chapter 1 covered. I know exactly to do for chapter 9: none other then the argument scene! I can picture it so vividly, Luigi and Mario both standing on their tip toes, staring eachother down and shouting out random insults. Luigi, obviously, would have the height-and-intimidation advantage. Anywho, I'm rambling now, so let's get started!  
Oh, and in response to a review: yes, I try to write a new chapter every day. I sit down pretty late at night, because that's when I'm most inspired, while listening to soundtrack music from video games. There's a cool website that I go to that has remixes of video game music, you should do a web search on "overclocked remix" if you want to check it out. They have tons of Mario remixes, as well as a remix on pretty much all video games that have music in them by various contributors. Oh, and I'm rambling some more, so let's get started for real this time! 

CHAPTER TEN: CRYSTELLE OF ICE

The boat docked in Shiver City as planned. The shivering band of people stumbled off of the craft and into the snow. Briney said that he was delivering a shipment and would not be staying, so they would have to find their own way back.

White flecks fell from the sky, coating the ground in an eternal white meadow. Buildings stood in the lonely town, populated only by the hardiest of Toads and many penguins. Mario had been here before, but Luigi hadn't.

"S...sso... this is Sh...shiver City?" Luigi rubbed his arms. "I... I want... something hot to drink..."  
"We can stop at the rest house and see if they know of any way to reach the Sky Humblers. I don't think we can make it all the way there without a map or a guide." Peach spoke as she led the way, her shoes crunching the snow beneath her.   
The Mario Brothers followed her into the city. Snowmen were everywhere. A lake, completely frozen solid, was in the center of the town. Penguins were ice-skating on it, drawing figures in the ice. Luigi wondered how they could stand the perpetual cold, but they were penguins. They were born in the cold, and that was all they ever knew.

Aeolian followed them, fascinated at the stuff falling from the sky. He liked the feel of it between his toes, though it numbed them. It was a new experience.  
They quickly made it to the inn. Aeolian stayed outside and watched through the window as his friends entered the inn, where they were greeted by an old Toad dressed in thick clothing.

"Hello, what can I interest you in? Bed? Food? Information? The information is free, but I'm afraid I can't give away the other two."

"We'd like all three," Mario said. "Do you know of any maps of the Shiver Region? We're looking to go to the Sky Humblers. Is there anyone you know of that can help us?"

The Toad seemed shocked. "You're going there? The road to the Humblers is treacherous indeed. I don't know of any maps, but... there's a woman in the village, the same species of you, that may be able to help. Her name is Crystelle."

Luigi's thoughts were lost by the mention of her name. Was she single? Was she nice? He was suddenly anxious to meet her. He was about to ask the Toad if she was married or not, but he was sure he could figure out later.  
"We'll go see her. Where is she now?" Peach asked.

"Well, I don't keep up with her that much, but she lives at the very edge of town. You can't miss it, she has the biggest house in the Shiver City."  
"We'll be back here after we find her." Mario said, waving goodbye as he abandoned the warmth of the inn and stepped once again into the forbidding cold.

The four located the house, standing alone and pushed back away from the rest of the village. Mario was the first to knock on the door. He waited for a reply, knocked again, then heard a voice beyond the door shout, "Coming! Coming!"

The door suddenly opened, revealing a woman in her late thirties. She was tall, and wore a white, fur robe. Her hair, too, was white, as were the irises of her eyes. Her skin was also rather pale. She was an odd sight to see. Luigi wondered if she had been born in a room with nothing but white, to make her appear the way she did.

"Who are you all?" She asked, then gasped when she saw the dragon. "What is that?"  
"This is Aeolian, the dragon." Mario introduced. "I'm Mario, and that's my brother Luigi, and my wife Peach."

"Mario? You're Mario? I've heard many stories about you." Crystelle grinned with delight. "You've come here? To me? You're famous!"

She hesitated, then said, "well, tell me inside. It is cold out here. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid the dragon can't fit."  
"That's fine," Aeolian told her with his usual smile, "I'll wait outside."

Crystelle let the three inside, where they were greeted by a pleasant room. There were comfy fur chairs placed on a large white rug. A blazing fire in the fireplace heated the house to a comfortable degree.

"So, what brings you here to Shiver city?" She asked.

"We need to reach the Sky Humblers. We were told you knew how to get there."Mario explained.

Crystelle fell silent, and a faraway look resided in her eyes. She then spoke, "well... its been a while since I went there. I remember the road clearly, but... its a long and dangerous journey. You must be fast, agile, and camouflaged in the snow. In case you're wondering why I look so white, its because I was born here in the Shiver Region, in an igloo far off. My body has taken on the looks of its surroundings, to best fit my needs. Then, when I discovered this city, I moved here, for my family was... well, eaten."

Everyone gasped.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Crystelle..." Peach frowned, and wanted to hug her, but she was a complete stranger, and Crystelle would probably shrug her off.

"Its okay. I didn't know any of them."  
"But they were your family!"  
"I rarely got to socialize with them... but those times are behind me now. If you want an escort, I expect to be paid for this journey. Are you sure you want to go?"

"How much?" Peach reached inside her pocket and pulled out a coinpurse.

"Something reasonable that you're willing to pay."

"Does two hundred coins sound sufficent?" Peach asked.

"Yes, that will do, I think."

Peach emptied the coins out onto a nearby table.  
"Alright. I'll be ready tomorrow. Meet me here at sunrise and we will go. You best prepare for the journey- it will be long, cold, and miserable if you don't have the proper tools."  
"Thank you, Crystelle." Mario gave a nod-like bow to her, then he turned to leave.

After reuniting with Aeolian and beginning the journey back to the inn, Mario nudged Luigi and asked, "you were really quiet in there. Something wrong?"

"She didn't have a ring on her finger." Luigi sighed. "I'm thinking... if I get to know her..."  
"Luigi, I don't think its the best idea to try and pursue someone you just met, and will only know for a few days. I think you should try building a relationship with someone you've known for a while."

"Like who? Everyone else isn't intrested."

"Well, I don't really know. But its your choice. You can tell her you like her, but as a complete stranger I don't think that would work out."  
"True..." Luigi looked down, kicking snow as he walked. "I should just give up for now... there's more important things to worry about then women."

"Don't give up forever, though, Luigi. Love isn't a thing that can be forced or a thing that you can bring up at any given moment. Love is not a mere feeling that lasts a moment- it lasts a lifetime, and it is also a choice. When you feel for someone, you make a choice to love them- and that is what creates the bond. So, Luigi, when you feel the time is right, you will make a commitment. You will know, trust me."

Luigi didn't seem to convinced, but he held on to Mario's words.

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They met Crystelle that morning, as she had instructed, with their supply bags brimming with things they knew they would need- plenty of fire flowers, extra clothing, and food and water in special canteens that would keep the water from freezing.

She greeted them with a nod, then pointed to the south. "See those hazy mountains way back there? You can barely see them, but they are extremely tall, are they not? They are obscured by the clouds."

Mario, Peach, Luigi, and Aeolian strained to see the mountains in the distance. They could make them out barely through a foggy layer of clouds that obscured them. They were indeed tall and intimidating.

"It will take us five days to make it all the way there, breaks included. If you want to make it there quickly you will have to take five hour breaks every night.  
"But... I'm used to sleeping eight hours..." Mario complained right away. "This won't be very pleasant..."

"It'll be hard to sleep in the cold anyway." Crystelle said, "unless we're lucky and find a cave or some sort of shelter along the way. Keep your supplies close- they are your lifelines."  
She turned and began walking. The others followed, taking the first steps blindly on their adventure, putting their trust in a complete stranger. Mario knew that there was a big risk involved, but what other choice did they have? Could Crystelle be trusted?

The first hour of the journey was somewhat pleasant. They talked amongst themselves, sharing stories and laughing at some of Mario's humorous adventures. But, as time dragged on, the cold began to bite at their skin, and the cheery mood of the group was drowned in an upcoming sorrow.

Aeolain stayed close to everyone, and used his wings to block the wind from hitting the feeble humans' skin. Aeolian's scales protected him from the wind, and he was happy to shelter everyone. As he walked, he perked up, hearing strange howling noises. He lowered his head to Luigi, and whispered, "I hear it again... the strange wind that doesn't come from the wind..."

Luigi swallowed, wanting to freeze in fear, but he kept walking to stay warm. "What do you... do you think it.. it is?" He stammered, fog forming from his breath.

"I'm not really sure. But we need to be careful. I think we're being followed..."


	11. Blizzards and Lightning

A/N: Prepare yourselves for a lot of reading this time around. This chapter is very long, and its the chapter containing (some of) the major Luigi angst we've been waiting for. Also, once again I remind you of that new drawing in my profile, if you haven't seen it yet I suggest you do. It took me a few hours to complete it, working on it off and on throughout the course of two days. Anyway, enjoy the whopping load of reading in here.

CHAPTER ELEVEN: BLIZZARDS AND LIGHTNING

Thunder crackled in the distance, lighting up the overcast skies, which were pouring snow upon the weary five companions. Crystelle remained ahead of everyone at all times, telling them techniques to beat the cold and stay atop the snow without sinking.

"I'm hungry." Aeolian broke a cold silence as he walked behind his friends.

"So are we..." Luigi moaned, "and you eat three times as much as the rest of us... if we don't ration our supplies, we won't have enough to make it to the mountain."

Aeolian's large stomach growled. "Sorry." He said, "But I"m really, really hungry..."

Luigi reached into his backpack, then took two large mushrooms that he had been saving for himself, but he knew that if Aeolian lost his strength, it would be a colossal downfall to their progress then if he himself collapsed. He sacrificed some of his rations to Aeolian, who gobbled them up without much of a second thought.

He then looked to the horison, and saw the mountains drawing ever nearer. It was their second day, and the five hours of rest did not sit well with Luigi. He and his friends were sluggish, except for Crystelle, who seemed to have done it a million times, and was not phased.

"So... have you heard anything in the wind recently, Aeolian?" Mario asked, dragging his feet.

"No."  
"Hmm..." Mario replied. "Well... let us know if you detect anything."

Aeolian nodded in response, but his eyes were focused on the mountains in the distance. Determination drove him and his companions onward.  
A few minutes passed in silence. Luigi ran forward, then fell into step with Crystelle. He scratched the back of his head, then said, "So... Crystelle... I was wondering..."

"Yes?"

"Um... well, the thing is, you see... I already know everything about my friends, and well, I was wondering... you know, wanting to talk to you, about... um... what, um... your favorite food is?"

"Well," Crystelle laughed shyly, "I really like fries. Its a strange thing to like out here in the snow, I know... but..." her voice trailed, and her sentence remained incomplete.

"I, uh...favorite color? Or is that a little obvious? Is it white?"

She shook her head. "No, actually, my favorite color is silver. And I'm guessing yours is green, is it not?"

"Yeah, its green. I've always been known as 'the Green Thunder'. Its kind of my nickname that was given to me by the people of the Mushroom Kingdom..."

"Green Thunder? Why is that?"

"Well, its a complicated story..." Luigi said with a sheepish grin. "I... well, when my brother and I were born, we both had these special talents. Neither of us are sure who gave them to us, but my brother has the power of fire, and I have the power of lightning. See?"  
He shoved his fist into the air, and a bold of lightning sizzled from the sky, and struck his body. For a second, he glowed, then when the light faded, a sparkling ball of electricity resided in his hand that was raised upwards.

Crystelle was impressed. "Wow!" She breathed, "That is one talent!"

Suddenly, a ball of fire struck Luigi from behind, lighting his pants on fire, and causing him to drop his lightning, which vanished into the air. "Yow! Yow! Yow! Hot! Hot! Hot!"  
He sat down in the snow, and smoke puffed from his body. "Aaah..." He said, then eyed Mario, who was chuckling. Using the fireball took some of his heat, but was well worth it.

"You two," Crystelle chuckled and shook her head. "So, Mario, with your fire power, are you warmer then the rest of us?"

Mario shook his head. "No, the fire doesn't keep me warm... instead it sucks heat out of me and uses it for fuel in the fire. With Luigi, its the same. It sucks out his energy and uses it as a pole to collect lightning. We just figured it out as the years went."

"Oh, then I guess you should keep the playing around to a minimum..." Crystelle replied. "Well, that was a very interesting thing to figure out about you two."

She reached out a hand and helped Luigi up. He began to blush, so he tipped his cap downwards and looked down. Yet still, it was painfully obvious what he was hiding- a crush.

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The group had found a cave that night. The stormclouds had remained when the sun had set, obscuring the stars and moon which were visible last night. Luigi felt depressed when he saw a night sky without stars. He quietly followed his friends inside the cave.

The mouth of the cave was just wide enough for Aeolian to fit in. The cavern extended extremly far into the darkness. Stalactites and stalagmites littered the area, showing that the cave was very old. The five settled down near the mouth of the cave, fearing to venture any farther into the unknown darkness.  
As they began to unpack their things, Mario sneezed loudly, then sat down.

"You alright there, bro?" Luigi asked, glancing at his brother, who did in fact look a bit under the weather.

"I'm not feeling so good. I think I've caught a cold or something." He replied. "I can sleep it off, I bet."

Crystelle looked at him, then sighed. "Sickness is common but we must either live with it or fight it as soon as possible. I wouldn't want staying in this cave too long. They say that strange creatures make their homes here, in the snowy caverns."

As she spoke, wind howled through the entrance, and Aeolian perked.

"Was that your secret stalker?" Luigi asked.

Aeolian shook his head and laid back down. "No, just the wind."  
He curled up on the hard floor, looking like some sort of sleeping cat. His body was both gargantuan and graceful. Luigi reached out and pet Aeolian's muzzle, before climbing into a sleeping bag.

Throughout that night, Mario coughed, and no one was able to get to sleep. Peach was at his side, checking his temperature, and trying to get him to drink some hot soup, which was heated by a fire flower.

During their fourth hour of break, she told them terrible news.

"He has more then a cold..." She moaned, "he has pneumonia!"

"What?" Luigi asked, jumping out of his sleeping bag.

"Its inflammation of the lungs," Crystelle said as she ran to Mario. "How is he now?"

"Terrible," Mario answered for Peach, "I feel terrible..."

"We can't go on with him like this!" Luigi said. "We have to wait for him to get better and-"

His voice was cut off by a sudden sound at the door. It was a voice that sent chills of both fear and anger down Luigi's spine.

"Or, I can get him out of his misery!"  
It was the voice of none other then Bowser.

Standing at the entrance of the cave was the Koopa King himself. He looked like a giant turtle, with a Mohawk of fire-red hair and spikes sticking from his shell. He was decorated with a spiked collar and bracelets. His shell was green, and his belly was yellow.  
"Bowser!" Luigi's eyes narrowed. "Leave now, or I'll be forced to hurt you!"

"Ah, but this time Luigi, I've been hired to do my job with a hefty sum of money, and I won't give up to a plumber so easily!"

He then charged into the cave. Luigi quickly fumbled for his mallet which he kept with him at all times, and then met Bowser with his weapon that struck like lightning to Bowser's body.

The Koopa was knocked outside, spinning on his shell. Luigi followed him outside into the blistering cold. Crystelle and Aeolian followed, and Peach stayed with Mario, who was in no condition to fight.

"You have an army..." Bowser said as he stood back onto his stubby legs, "so do I!" He lifted his head and cried, "Wendy! Roy! Iggy! Get over here!"

Three of his six children appeared into the scene. Wendy, the only girl, was decorated with bracelets. Her brother Roy was large and muscular, wearing sunglasses. Iggy was a strange one, with a wild hairstyle and a hyper temperament about him.

"We didn't chase you all the way down here for nothing in this cursed land!" Bowser said. "Come get it, Luigi!"

Luigi ran for Bowser, but he was met by Roy, who attacked with sudden force that it send him crashing to the ground. Particles collected around Luigi's body, and suddenly, a bolt of lightning collided with his body.

He gathered the energy to his hands and then flung balls of pure, green lightning towards his adversaries. This was nothing new to Bowser, but it hurt him every time. The Koopa groaned, his body sparking, then he faced Luigi with a snarl.  
Aeolian jumped into the battle, breathing fire as he walked. "Nobody hurts Luigi when I'm around!"

Despite his size, Aeolian had never trained for combat as Bowser's children have. The three took on Aeolian while Luigi faced Bowser.

"I can help!" Crystelle called. "I'll help Aeolian, okay?"

"No! I don't want you to fight!" Luigi replied as he was punched squarely across the jaw by Bowser, "stay with Mario! Uhnh-"

As he was distracted, Bowser had pummeled him into the snow, momentarily buring him. Luigi emerged quickly, and met Bowser with a thrash of his mallet. He jumped into the air and landed on Bowser's head, knocking him into the snow.

Bowser retaliated, grabbing Luigi's ankle and spinning him into a nearby stone pillar. He crashed into the rock and slid off, drained. Just as Bowser was about to continue knocking Luigi around, he was tripped by a swish from Aeolian's tail.  
Aeolian was attacking the three Koopalings with all that he had, but not unscathed. They had already wounded him greatly. Gaping wounds were seen in his hide, but he tried not to show his pain. His adversaries were already injured by the dragon and Crystelle, who combated in a strange fashion.

Luigi had never seen anything like it before. She would grab a heap of snow from the ground, and fashion the snow into an ice weapon. She often created ice needles to fling at her opponents, or she created an ice dagger or shield. She worked skillfully and creatively, as if she had fought a dozen times.  
He jumped to his feet and attacked Bowser while he was down. The Koopa, however, regained his footing, retreated into his shell, and then spun into Luigi. He gasped, trying to dodge. He then saw that Bowser was headed for Crystelle!  
Bowser jumped out of his shell, landed, then said, "so, you're intrested in her, aren't you?"  
The Koopa had caught her at the worst moment- she was already being attacked by Roy and Wendy, and she could not focus on all three. Without warning, Bowser reached forward and grabbed her around the stomach.

Luigi felt his heart jump to his throat. "L... let her go!" He stammered.

"Oh, okay, I'll do it." Bowser said with heavy sarcasm. "I'll do everything you ask me to, your highness."

Luigi gritted his teeth.

"Let her go _now_!"

He took his mallet and ran, despite the fact that he was already very fatigued. Bowser, however, did not move, and his grip tightened on Crystelle.

Luigi stopped running. Bowser was going to kill her if he attacked.

"What... what would you want from me?" He gave in to the bait.

"The dragon. Aeolian."

"Luigi, don't do it! I'm fine!" Crystelle yelled, fear in her voice.

Luigi looked over at Aeolian, who had been overpowered by now by the Koopalings. He then looked at Crystelle.

"Luigi!"

Mario stood at the mouth of the cavern, supported by Peach. "Catch!"

Mario threw to him none other then a fire flower. Luigi caught it, then threw it to Aeolian. The dragon grabbed the plant and devoured it, then his scales began to fluctuate. The Dragon regained its footing, then began shooting blasts of fire left and right. Bowser and Crystelle were also hit, and the Koopa let go of her. Luigi then rushed into the fray, protecting Crystelle as he fought back Bowser with everything he had. He wasn't sure how he and Mario knew it, but somehow, Aeolian regained his energy when he ate the fire flower. He wasn't sure what just happened- why he knew what to do with the fire flower, but somehow, he knew that it would work.

Lightning rained down from the sky, forming a barrier around Luigi. He summoned all the strength he had left, and gathered his mallet into his frozen hands. He smashed the weapon into Bowser, sending the turtle flying into the snow.

Bowser collapsed into the snow and ice, and was surrounded by his children. He looked up at Luigi, then sneered. "You... may have one again, plumber... but this isn't the end..."  
The turtle unsteadily rose to his feet, then said, "let's go..."

They left, and had soon disappeared into the snow. Luigi was left panting, amazed at his success. Somehow, both he and Mario were able to know what would have given them the match- feeding Aeolian the fire flower somehow worked, and they both knew it. Flabbergasted and exhausted, Luigi fell backwards into the snow. The numbing cold made his injuries hurt worse then they should have, but he had much more to think about then pain.

Soon, Crystelle had fallen to his side. Her clothes were slightly singed, as was her skin, but otherwise, she appeared unharmed.

"Luigi..." She said, a look of sadness in her eyes.

The plumber looked over at her, still panting.

"I... I..." she stammered. Luigi looked hopeful. "I don't know how I can say this to you, Luigi. But, I must tell you to... to stop pursuing me. I am already in love with someone back home, and you are not that person."

Luigi swallowed, and dropped his head, but said nothing.

"But I want you to know that someone out there is feeling the same way you. There is a woman for you, Luigi, and you will find her. You may have to search to the ends of the earth, but I promise you that somewhere out there, there is someone who feels just like you, and is looking for someone with a pure heart, and a love for life. I'm sorry this is not me, Luigi, but you must know that the time _will_ come."

She stood up, then added in a lighter note, "thanks for saving me from that fiend." She gave him a weak smile, and he returned it, but said absolutely nothing.

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The group ended up spending a whole day in the cave, waiting for poor Mario to recover. Bowser had purposely waited for someone to go down, Luigi assumed, so he could have the upper hand. He still managed to beat the old Koopa, but somehow, Luigi felt that the fight wasn't over. He still felt as though something was still here, but he didn't know what. He was too grieved to care.

Aside from asking the occasional question about Mario, or answering a question directed at him, Luigi was dead silent. He sat alone, at the mouth of the cave, staring into the distance, or staring into nothing at all. Crystelle felt terrible for crushing him, but she knew that she had to say something, otherwise it would make his pain all the worse. She wondered how many women had turned him down, or how many he had truly loved and lost. Curiosity got the best of her, and she asked Mario.

"So, Luigi hasn't had a lot of luck with the ladies?" She sat next to Mario, who was sitting erect, his back against a stone.

"I feel terribly for him..." Mario replied in a raspy voice, "the first woman he loved was Daisy. They were dating for a few years before something happened to her."

"What happened?"

"She moved. Luigi wanted to move with her, to a faraway land, but the Mushroom Kingdom needed him. We all needed him. He had to chose between a love or a duty, and the choice he made is obvious. Anyone else he met from that moment on turned him down for his clumsiness or occasional fear, or perhaps they were already interested in someone other then him."

Mario looked at his brother, who was sitting at the mouth of the cave, shivering. He sighed, then said, "there isn't really much encouragement I can give him. When Luigi sets his mind to something he normally doesn't believe there's another way. I believe that when a door is closed, another is opened, but he does not. He dwells on what happened, and not what can happen."

Peach was listening from nearby, making soup with a fire flower- they were running out. She handed a bowl of roasted mushrooms, carrots, and spices cooked in water to Mario. "Here, this should help your throat."

"Thanks..." Mario took the bowl and smiled at his wife. Peach then moved on to give Luigi his bowl. Mario and Crystelle watched from a distance, and though they could not hear the two, they could see Luigi refuse the food, Peach argue with him for a moment, then Luigi reluctantly take it. They then saw her return, and take the rest of the soup that was left over and give it to Aeolian.

Crystelle did not mind that she did not get a ration- the food Peach was using was hers and Mario's, and Crystelle had her own.

The day slowly became night, and that night slowly became the next day, and by then, Peach had announced that Mario's fever had gone, and he was nursed back to health astonishingly fast, though there was a few lasting symptoms such as the coughing. Thus, they reassumed their quest.

Along the path, Luigi noticed Aeolian seeming contemplative, as if he thought that something wasn't right.

"What's wrong?" He asked the dragon.

"Ever since we chased Bowser away," he began, "I thought that the wind I was hearing would leave."

"Have you heard it yet?"

"Not yet... I was thinking that Bowser was the cause of this strange wind I've been hearing, but then again... he's too bulky to be swift and silent.. unless he devised some sort of stealth device... but I guess it doesn't matter, because I haven't heard that wind yet."  
Aeolian stopped talking, then said, "I haven't heard from Dad in a while... I wonder what's going on in my world..."

"We will be there soon, don't worry." Luigi replied swiftly. "We'll be there if we live..."

"Oh, shut up, will you?" Mario said playfully, "We'll live. We always do."


	12. Ascension to the Dragon Kingdom

A/N: Luigi fans, I've recently added a new oneshot to my arsenal, called A Charged Spark. You should like it, so check it out if you want.

CHAPTER TWELVE: ASCENSION TO THE DRAGON KINGDOM

"Here we are," Crystelle breathed, "the Sky Humblers."

They were standing at the frozen base of the ice mountain. In the middle of the mountain range was the Sky Tower, which continued on into the sky beyond what they could see. The mountain was intimidating. Snow was falling quickly, obscuring their vision, but what they could see, they knew it would be difficult, and could very well take days.

"So how do you plan to scale this mountain?" Crystelle asked, eying them. "The atmosphere changes as you ascend, so you must have some sort of way of beating human limitations."

Mario, Luigi, and Peach exchanged glances.

"We thought Aeolian would know," said Luigi. "Aeolian? Do you know how we are going to scale the mountain?"

Aeolian hesitated, then shut his eyes. He didn't know. As he was about to report his thoughts, something hit him- a message from his father.

"Luigi!" He blinked. "My... my dad! He's contacting me!"  
"Ah-" Luigi jumped. "What's he saying?"

Aeolian shut his vibrant eyes, thinking, then said, "He says that I have a special talent, as do all Dragons... anyone riding me shares my abilities. I have the ability to fly beyond what the atmosphere would allow humans, thus, you'll be able to come with me!"

Luigi, Mario, and Peach sighed with relief. "He has a knack for coming in in just the right time, doesn't he? I wonder why he puts it off so long." Luigi said.

"Maybe it uses up his energy," Peach tapped her chin. "Regardless, we need to scale the mountain, Aeolian."

"Then this shall be the time where I leave you." Crystelle said. "It seems you have it covered from here. Goodbye, Luigi."

Before anyone could respond, she stepped back, and then vanished into the snow.

"Mysterious woman..." Mario commented, "It only makes me wonder... IS she snow?"  
That was the last thing anyone said as they all followed Aeolian towards the Sky Tower. They began to feel a change in the elevation as they headed up the mountain. Soon, they were climbing with their hands slowly over rocks. Their numbed fingers made it difficult.

"Aeolian, I think it would be a good idea if you carried us..." Mario said as he struggled over a ledge. His energy was still sapped from being sick, "because I'm slipping!"

Aeolian quickly grabbed Mario, who was dangling pathetically from a ledge. He placed Mario on his back, then grabbed Luigi and Peach in his hands and put them behind Mario. "Come on! We're scaling this mountain!" He said with determination.

Luigi held on tight to his back as the dragon began rising the peak. "Careful, Aeolian! There's not much to hold on to back here-" his voice trailed wildly as he began to slip down Aeolian's slick back. The dragon was almost nearly vertical.

"Sorry!" Aeolian said, "But you three will have to hold on to my scales as tight as you can, because here I go!"

He then began charging up the slope, jumping from rock to rock, sometimes hovering to find a good foot hold. His progress was swift and steady, and the group believed that they would reach the summit in no time.

Luigi and his friends, however, were hanging onto the dragon for dear life. Luigi had unfortuantely slid to Aeolian's tail, where he clung to in fear and anxiety. He looked below him, and saw that they were nearly halfway up the enormous mountain now. He was now too afraid to think about the subzero temperatures, too afraid that he would slip off of Aeolian and fall to his doom.

Luigi looked up, and could see that Peach was barely hanging onto Aeolian's scales. Slowly, she was beginning to slip.

"Mario! Peach is falling!" Luigi called. Mario gasped and reached for her with one of his gloved hands, but she slipped, and began falling.

"Oh no!" Aeolian looked over his shoulder, twisted, and plummeted after her, falling along with the rapid snowflakes. He was gaining speed, ignoring the screams of terror from all three of his friends as he lunged for the falling princess. He grabbed her around the waist, then flung her upwards. Mario grabbed her in midair, then wrapped his other arm around Aeolian's wing.

Aeolian twisted around, and grabbed the side of the ledge. He had lost a lot of progress. He rested, breathing hard.

"Is everyone alright?"

"Uh-huh..." was Peach's breathless response, "thank you Aeolian..."

A heavy wind assaulted Aeolian, and fighting against it, he began climbing once more. The cliff would take a few hours to reach, but he was going to make it.

0000000000

They could see for miles. Even through the snow and fog, the world around them was exposed in a way they had never before seen. The breathtaking sight was the essence of beauty- the world around them shone like the stars.

"Its... amazing..." Mario breathed, then coughed into his shoulder. "I only wish... I was in full health to enjoy it to its best..."  
Peach wrapped her arms around her husband, then said into his ear, "the important thing is, you're here." She then let go of Mario with one arm, and took Luigi with it. "We all made it this far."  
"But our adventure isn't over yet." Luigi said, looking down the mountain, his clear blue eyes full of passion and also grief. He looked over at Peach, smiled weakly, then breathed, "but... I think I can make it. I was wrong, Mario. You are right. I give up too easily." His smile, however, didn't remain. He looked back down across the world.

They were all sitting on Aeolian's back, the dragon was resting after such a long climb. If they got off, they could very well choke from the pressure of the altitude.

Aeolian gazed into the sky, then pointed. "Look... you can barely see it. Its a giant orb in the sky surrounded by clouds... its like a little planet... within our own..."

Everyone raised their heads to the stars, and saw the planet barely in the distance.

"I'm ready. Let's go."

Aeolian rose to his feet, lifted his head to the sky, then he roared with passion, his voice echoing through the world. Then, he lifted his shining green wings, and jumped off of the mountain. The winds caught him, and he forced himself upwards. With every beat of his wings he grew more tired, but passion and determination fueled his muscles.

They were growing closer and closer to the orb in the sky, until at last, they were at it- it was like a planet within a planet- a separate atmosphere within an atmosphere. With a burst of speed, the dragon entered his planet, and his life then changed.

The cold left him- the pressure of the atmopshere vanished and was replaced with a burning fire- the dragon was falling to the ground at impressive speeds. The ground beneath him was a lush grassland, filled with scattering wildlife of animals he had never seen before.

He tried to slow his fall, but his joints burned, and he crashed into the ground, flinging his passengers.

Luigi hit the ground hard and tumbled through the soft grass, his hat falling off. His body ached, but he was thankful he landed in grass and not rocks. His brother landed next to him, and Peach landed further off.

"Mario... Peach... are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Mario stood up shakily and brushed off his coat. "Its so warm out here..." He began to take it off and fit it in his backpack. Peach stood up next to him and did the same. Luigi could feel it- they had entered a summer atmosphere, and he took off his jacket and looked around.

The world was colorful and lush. The grass was unbelievably green. Strange animals that had scattered from seeing the dragon were approaching their feeding grounds once more, staring curiously at the strange new creatures that stood before them.

An animal that looked like a cross between a horse and a goat, with a stature similar to a lion, approached Luigi slowly. It sniffed him, then took a step back.

"That's a funny little monster," Peach said.

"Stay back, we don't know what it wants with us," Mario replied, protective of his wife.He looked up to the sky and saw it full of stars. Each star was different- some big, some small, some tinkling with blue hues, some red.

"Those are strange looking stars," he said to Aeolian, "they're all noticeably different."

"Yeah," replied Aeolian with a smile as he climbed to his feet, "my world is beautiful..."

They began walking, unsure where to go first. There was no city in sight.

"I guess we just keep walking until we see something," Aeolian said as he walked, trying to ignore the strange animals that were following them. Luigi followed Aeolian closely, adjusted his cap which he had recovered after the fall, and looked over his shoulder at his brother and Peach. No one said much- they were too busy gazing at the strange new land.

"It sure beats the Beanbean Kingdom," Mario said with a chuckle, "eh, Luigi?"

"Yeah," Luigi replied, returning his smile, "that place was... odd. But this one... its beautiful."

But that beauty would not last.


	13. The Black Wind Howls

A/N: When I checked the stats the other day I noticed this story had 666 hits! Yikes:P ("Now I'm not superstitious, but I'm a little stitious." Quote Michael, from The Office.) And just clearing things up, I'm not even a little stitious. I just found it a little funny that my story became the sign of the beast, at least for that one time. XD Don't worry, it doesn't have 666 hits anymore. Speaking of The Office, I like Dwight!

Oh, and I thank 5hadowDr3amer for your encouraging comments! I admit I have no idea what I'm doing, just writing whatever comes out every day, lol:D Glad you like it.  
This chapter will contain PURELY ORIGINAL ideas and will reveal a HUGE part of the Dragon Kingdom's society. This story will probably be incorporated some day into an original fiction. To warn you, this is under the Burne Convention copyright. Anything written down belongs to the owner, and trust me, you won't get away with it if you attempt to steal my ideas.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: THE BLACK WIND HOWLS (ooc: no Chrono Trigger refrence intended)

"Remember those two Dragons we met back in Toad Town?" Mario asked Luigi as he rested in the grass, staring at the still starry sky. They had been walking for very long, and they didn't exactly know how long, because the sky was perpetually starry. They decided to take a break, because Aeolian was tired, and Mario was still under the weather.

"Yes," Luigi replied, his voice full of thought.

"They told us that their master was going to hire Bowser to take us down. So since we defeated Bowser... aren't we home free from here on?"

"I guess so," Luigi shrugged. "But how do we know we can even trust those dragons? And what about this strange wind Aeolian keeps telling us about?"  
"He hasn't mentioned it yet." Mario replied. "Maybe Bowser was responsible for it?"

"I don't know..." Luigi sighed, closing his eyes. "But I don't want to worry about any of this right now... let's just get some sleep, alright?"  
"I hear ya." Mario yawned, "Goodnight, Luigi."

Luigi wasn't sure how long he was asleep. Groggily, he came to his senses, suddenly awoken. Stretching as he looked around him, he realized soon that something was wrong. Out of place. It took him a few moments to realize what was wrong.

"Aeolian... is... gone?!"

Fear raced through his heart.

He grabbed Mario who was sleeping elsewhere, and shook him awake. "Mario! Mario! Aeolian is _gone!"_

"Huh...?" Mario was exhausted, and it took him a while to realize what Luigi was so frantic about. "Luigi... what?"

"Aeolian!" He repeated. "He's gone!"  
Mario and Peach both awoke, and saw that the dragon was nowhere to be seen. There was silence, then, a howl of wind could be heard in the distance. Slowly, Mario, Luigi, and Peach turned their heads to look at each other, not a word escaped their mouths. Their eyes wide, they found themselves communicating in silence the emotion they all felt all too well- fear.

Panic ensued.

"Aeolian! Aeolian where are you!? Is there a trace?! Anything!?" Mario yelled frantically and began running. He was followed by Luigi and Peach, who hastily grabbed their things and ran after Mario frantically.

They were making their way hastily over a low hill, whatever beyond it was obscured. Once the three had reached the top of the hill, breathing hard, they looked up and gasped.

There was a gigantic citadel in the distance, and around it, the starry sky seemed to seep into blackness. It was as if a plague seemed to loom over the citadel, and anything that came within its boundaries was consumed into a terrifying darkness. There was a single thing in the dark sky above the citadel- a very low moon which seemed to nearly touch the spiked roof of the castle. The beautiful world was consumed by it- and even looking at the thing struck terror into the hearts of its overseers.

"Aeolian went there...?" Peach breathed. "Why?"

There was unexpected movement in a dark forest nearby. The three quickly snapped their attention to whatever it was, and immediately suspected something. Was it Aeolian, or was it his kidnapper?

"Who's down there?" Mario demanded, and began running towards the source of the movement. "Mario, this isn't very smart," Luigi said as he followed Mario, placing his hand on his hat while he sped downhill. Peach ran after Luigi, lifting her bright pink dress slightly to avoid tripping over it.

They reached the edge of the forest, and Mario had already discovered who had moved- it was none other then Reyva and Serphen from Toad Down.

"You two!" Mario sneered at the purple and yellow dragons.

"Oh, hi, Mario, looks like you made it." Reyva said calmly, "how's Aeolian?"

"Don't play dumb with me!" Mario stiffened and jabbed a finger at Reyva. "You know EXACTLY where Aeolian is so GIVE HIM BACK!"  
Marios face reflected the color of his hat as he glared at Reyva in a fury.

"What?" Reyva's expression went from calm to defensive as she was accused by the angry plumber. "I didn't do anything with Aeolian! How'd you get here if you can't find him?!"

"He disappeared last night and YOU'RE the one near the area! We've already defeated your king's mercenary Bowser so I don't see any other threat other then you!"

"I told you, Mario, I'm a friend!" Reyva was backed into a tree by Mario. "Luigi! You know I didn't do anything wrong!"

Luigi looked at Reyva's frantic expression, then squinted. "I'm... not sure I could've trusted you in the first place, Reyva. Please return Aeolian and we won't hurt you."

"I told you, I didn't do anything to your dragon Aeolian!"

Mario hit her, and she landed harshly on the ground with a groan.

"That has gone too far, Mario!" Peach grabbed Mario's arm before he was able to hit Reyva again.

"Peach, honey, this dragon... she has to be the one!"  
"We don't want to become like _them_, Mario! We are _not_ interrogators! That is something of the evil."

Mario's tensed muscles began to relax, and he sighed. "You're right... I... I'm sorry, Reyva... I just don't have anyone else to blame..."

Reyva rubbed the spot on her muzzle where she was hit, then said, "Its fine, I don't blame you... Serphen, its alright, I don't think he's hostile anymore."

The plump dragon Serphen came out of hiding.

"Last night I was spying on Growle." Reyva told Mario. "I discovered that he only hired Bowser as a distraction. He didn't belive the Koopa King had anything new up his sleeves."

"A distraction for what?" Luigi asked, concerned.

"I don't know. He stopped talking before I could hear. I think he suspected he was being spied on... but I'm pretty sure that its nothing to be messed with, whatever it was."

"Maybe this thing is responsible for Aeolian's captivity?" Peach asked.

"I don't know, and I don't see any reason to trust you and Serphen." Mario glanced at Reyva. "If we let you two go you might return to your master. So I want you to travel with us, and tell you what you know about this world. Let's call it a friendly captivity."

Reyva smiled. "I will gladly follow you, Mario, because I have nothing to hide. Would you like to know where the Starbringer's hideout is? As you may have guessed, that citadel is the fortress of the Moonshards. They're trying to engulf our world in literal darkness, and destroy all of the stars in our sky."

Reyva sighed, then said, "but before you walk aimlessly through our world we need to clear some things up for you. We are Starbringers, and we have a commitment to protect Aeolian. One thing you have to know about the Dragon Kingdom is this- every star is someone's life force. Every time someone is born, a new star is ignited. And every time someone dies, a star falls from the sky. A Dragon cannot live without his star, and vice versa. Every star is very strong, and will only falter in its light if the Dragon gives up hope."

She looked down sadly, and let Serphen continue.

"Some Starbringers are losing hope. We think that we cannot survive this war. When a star is weakened by loss of hope, the Moonshards can destroy the star. Thus, darkness fills in that starless area. That's why the sky is so dark around the citadel. The Moonshards, see, get their power from that one moon. The Starbringers and Moonshards used to live in harmony, but then, the heir to their throne, Growle, took control, and he began a reckless age of tyranny over us.

"Aeolian is the son of a Starbringer Dragon that married a Moonshard Dragon years ago. Their egg was prophesied to be the child that will once again unite the clans into a forever peaceful era. To prevent this from happening, Growle sent his best spies into the Starbringer Clan to capture the egg and retrain the dragon inside to follow his instructions, thus rendering the prophecy untrue. They successfully captured the egg and were leaving to the castle when they were attacked by two brave knights of the Starbringers.

"They fought for days in the skies. While they were battling, the egg slipped from the grasp of the Moonshard spies, and fell out of the atmosphere. It ended up in the Mushroom Kingdom below us on your planet. No one knew where it landed, so the Moonshards and the Starbringers searched in the shadows high and low for the egg."

Reyva continued for her cousin, "In the meanwhile, our king, the father of the egg, sent us as double agents to Growle- Serphen and I, that is. We joined as a Moonshard to spy on him and figure out where the egg went and who found it.

"Luigi picked it up on that fateful day, right at the moment when the Moonshard spies who originally stole the egg arrived: Ironclaw and Malice. And here we are now- standing under the same sky. Now what worries me is Aeolian is gone, you say? The first thing we need to do then is find our king, Kinimanji. Maybe he will know where his son is by tapping into his subconscious. Did I tell you how Dragons do that?"

Mario, Luigi, and Peach shook their heads, captivated by the story. They had no idea such a complex civilization had been living over their heads at all times.

"Blood-Related dragons can communicate to each other by using their own physical vigor through their minds. Its called Mindchat, and it helps a lot to keep Dragons working together. And though contact, they can also communicate to people outside their Dragon's mind. By touching Aeolian or his egg, Luigi, you could also hear Kinimanji's voice. But without Aeolian I'm afraid we won't be able to hear him. He's been Mindchatting a lot lately, and its really been sapping his strength. Come on, let's go to the Starbringer hideout, Mario!"


	14. Revelations in the Arcane City

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: REVELATIONS IN THE ARCANE CITY

Mario, Luigi, and Peach huddled together, conversing amongst themselves about these two strange dragons, Reyva and Serphen.

"I don't think we should trust them." Mario whispered, "They might lead us right to a trap!"

"Aeolian is gone, and they seem to know how to get him back," Luigi said. "I'm not as skeptical as you, Mario. I see something in them."

"But you're too naïve." Mario told Luigi, "you shouldn't be so trusting of these strangers. I think they're behind Aeolian's disappearance in the first place!"

"What other lead to we have, Mario? They know the land, and they've already told us about their world. I think that its best that we follow them. If anything happens that's truly suspicious, I'm sure you'll know what to do."

Mario, outvoted by his companions, gave in. They had reason to their madness, and yet, so did he. He wasn't completely sure who's side to chose, but he stuck with them.

"Alright, then. You win." He said, turning to Reyva with a half smile, "we'll follow you, to wherever you want to take us, but if we see the slightest sign of betrayal, you know what happens."

The purple dragon smiled. "Thanks, Mario! I won't let you down!"

She began walking, and Serphen motioned for them to follow. "Come on. The forests are pretty safe."

The three followed the dragons under the thick trees. Colorful foliage littered the ground, small animals darted from tree to tree, and leaves crunched under their feet. The weird creatures around them all stared at the newcomers, perplexed. Having never seen a human before, they were incredibly amazed.

They walked for a few minutes before Serphen and Reyva stopped at a clearing in the forest. Colorful plants littered the area, and in the center of the clearing, was a large stone with an engraving of a star on it. Reyva approached the stone and reached into the pocket of her shorts. She pulled out a small trinket, and placed it inside the stone.

There was a low rumble, then, the ground gave way nearby to reveal an opening into the darkness of the underground. Mario was immediately suspicious.

"If you are Starbringers, why be underground away from view of the sky?"

"Because it isn't away from the sky," Serphen told him, "You'll just have to see it."

Mario was hesitant, but he decided to follow them. He ignited a fire in his hands, and followed the dragons down into the depths of the underground. Luigi and Peach followed close behind the red-clad plumber, sticking close to the firelight he provided.

The dragons didn't seem to need Mario's firelight- for Reyva had removed the stone from the pedestal, and the entrance closed around them. However, her stone provided a source of light, which emitted a white glow like the stars, unlike the red glow of Mario's fire.

After a few moments of walking, they saw light at the end of the cave- a brilliant, glowing, silver light. As they approached, they could see a lively city. Soon, they had burst into a large cavern, decorated to the ceiling with silver light.

There were buildings, towers, and a market, from what the Mario Brothers could see. In the ceiling, they saw, was a giant window, curved, to fit the ceiling, and they could see the stars shimmering down. In the center of the cavern was a large pool of shallow water which reflected the stars. Hatchling dragons were playing in the pool, being watched by their parents.

Dragons roamed the streets and city, oblivious to the entrance of Serphen and Reyva. They were of many different colors- the younger dragons all had bright colors like neon green and electric yellow. But, Mario and Luigi noticed, the dragons who were larger and older had darker colors, yet more beautiful, and their colors seemed to fluctuate and glimmer like a star itself. There was a navy blue dragon, who's scales shimmered along with the glow of the starlight. The young dragons had not beauty in their scales, but a certain energetic feel.

"Where is your leader?" Luigi asked.

"Kinimanji is in the Arcane Hall. Its that big building over there. This is the Arcane City, the secret city of the Starbringers."

"Everyone seems so different," Peach said, "It looks like the older dragons have darker but more beautiful colors."  
Serphen nodded. "Yes, the older we get, the more our scales reflect our inner wisdom. Kinimanji is black, and his scales glimmer white. Black is the darkest and wisest color. Not many dragons live to be black."

Luigi glanced among the crowds, scanning the faces for Aeolian, but he was nowhere to be seen among the crowds of dragons.

"Can you take us to Kinimanji?"  
"Sure, that's what we're here fore. Follow me!"  
With a flick of her tai, Reyva led them through the crowds of dragons who were just now noticing them. They pointed to the humans with intrest, asking amongst themselves who they were. Most of them appeared to have never seen a human before.

There was a large, decorated palace that Reyva was hastily leading them to. They stepped onto the marble floors of the open-doored palace, and entered.

Inside, the walls were painted navy, and there were millions of glimmering jewels on the walls, looking much like the night sky. In the center of the room, sat a large, black dragon, with glimmering, metallic looking scales. He perked up when he noticed Reyva enter.

"Its Luigi," she said.

"Ah, Luigi!" Kinimanji had a deep, kind voice. He stood to his feet, pushing himself up off the ground, and then walked over to Luigi. "I imagined you to look a lot different then you do." He scanned over the human, who was much shorter the Kinimanji. "But our size and color does not matter in this world! It is your heart that matters, dear boy!"

He looked over at Mario and Peach, then said to Luigi, "and these, your friends, have helped you make it this far. They seem to be a part of you. They are your family, correct? You have such a strong family.So I thank them, for helping you in this quest."

He patted Luigi, then said, "I have spent much of my energy Mindchatting to you and Aeolian. To talk to you in person is a huge save on energy! I have been so drained lately, and Mindchatting is very risky. Not only does it drain me, but there is a chance that if my mind slips to think about Growle, he could hear what I am saying."

"How could that happen?" Asked Mario curiously, "...I thought Mindchatting only worked with blood-related Dragons."

"It really does depend on the age of the dragon and how much experience they have with this skill..." Kinimanji spoke, "I haven't completely perfected this skill, and even so, it takes an extraordinary abundance of energy to preform... however, Growle does it sometimes, and he's constantly trying to get into my mind. I, however, can divert him. This is a confusing concept, and there's more important things to discuss right now."

He motioned to a couch in the room, then said, "Come, all five of you. There is something you need to know."

Luigi, Reyva, Mario, Peach, and Serphen followed the black dragon to the comfortable looking couch, and they sat down. Kinimanji sat on a chair facing the couch, then breathed, "I am aware... that my son is gone."

He closed his eyes. "When Luigi picked up his egg, I wasn't sure if he was the one. But he is- he is the one that will lead my son to victory. But Growle has made it his utmost priority to keep this from happening- I fear Aeolian's prophecy will cease to exist." He opened his clear eyes, which were full of fear, and he said, "Growle recently made a mistake in his mindchatting. I heard his plans, and they are in effect as we speak. He has hired the most legendary bounty hunter in this planet to hunt down and kidnap Aeolian, in a most unthinkable way."

There was a short silence, and Luigi was on the edge of his seat. "Who is it!?" He asked in fear.

"The Black Wind." Replied Kinimanji. "Some think he's a dragon. Some think he's a shadow. But everyone agrees that he kills like both a shadow and an evil dragon. You see, he has refined his mindchatting skill to the extremes. He hides in the darkness of night and whispers inside the subconscious of a Dragon and orders them to follow his instructions. He must've tricked Aeolian into going to the Moonshard Citadel... but he can only speak to one person at a time.

"He must have not seen you and your friends as a threat, Luigi. This is why he refused to go after you two. It takes a significant amount of energy to mindchat, and the Black Wind has probably influenced Aeolian to go to the Moonshard Citadel and offer up himself as Growle's servant. We must stop the Black Wind and save Aeolian! Then, Aeolian must defeat Growle with your help, Luigi."  
A morbid silence crept into the room.

"...how can we... fight something... that hasn't even been seen?" Reyva breathed. "I mean, we. Yes. I wanted to help them, I think they need someone that knows the land. And I've heard about the Black Wind... they say when he touches darkness, he becomes one with the shadows. I've heard he's so greedy, that it takes a gigantic sum of money to hire him... Somehow, the Black Wind snuck into Aeolian's mind when he was distracted by another force."

"Bowser!" Mario snapped. "That's why he hired Bowser- to buy time for the Black Wind to get into Aeolian's mind! We were too busy fighting him that he must've found a way to sneak into the cave!" Mario jumped off the couch, then said, "There's no time to sit around! We need to get Aeolian back!"

"Mario..." Kinimanji breathed, "please, I don't want you to charge into the Moonshard Citadel unarmed and unprepared. You need food, armor, weapons, and allies before you go to such a place. Stay here and prepare yourself for a few hours. Trust me- you will have a better chance against such a nightmare if you do."

Mario heaved a sigh of frustration. He wanted to go now- but he saw that Luigi and Peach were exhausted, as was he, and Reyva and Serphen seemed to agree with Kinimanji.

"Growle shouldn't be underestimated." She replied. "He suspects me and Serphen, and of course, he's probably going to kill us the next time we go in there. In fact he's going to kill everyone if he gets Aeolian. If he retrains Aeolian for evil, the prophecy will be broken and Aeolian will rule with Growle. The best thing we can do now is prepare ourselves."


	15. The Path to the Citadel

A/N: This will hopefully mark the halfway point of this story, it might be shorter, might be longer. This story will become an "updates every two days" thing, because on the days this doesn't update I'll start working on Castaway Chronicles, which will be much lighter hearted then this one.

On a side note, this is very exciting: I got this 3D program recently and I've already worked on modeling Luigi's head! You can see the progress in my profile. I'll do Aeolian when i get the hang of it but dragons are pretty hard to render! 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THE PATH TO THE CITADEL

"Now, whatever you do, do not let Growle catch you... somehow you need to find Aeolian without being noticed by Growle or his servants." Kinimanji told the group sternly. "The methods of the Black Wind are not widely known by Dragons but there are some who know how to do what he does. I believe it's called Shadowblending. I have not perfected this power but I know someone who has. Her name is Symphony. She lives somewhere near the citadel in the Barrier Mountains. If you bribe her somehow I'm sure she'll be willing to Shadowblend you throughout the citadel to avoid being seen."

Mario was unsure, and he asked, "why does this Symphony live so far away from this village?"

Kinimanji fell silent, then he sighed and said, "for theivery. Her Shadowblending skills have gotten her in trouble in my village. I have excommunicated her and banished her into the wilderness, where she steals from Growle instead. She's been in there so many times I'm sure she could help you find a way inside and avoid detection from Growle's lackeys."

There was a short silence as Mario, Luigi, Peach, Serphen, and Reyva contemplated the situation and prepared themselves for the long journey. Reyva had told them earlier that there was no sun in the world, only one moon which never moved, so she said that they would be walking for a long time, but had no way of telling how long they've been walking. They would have to go by their instincts and what they knew of time- perhaps when they felt hungry that meant they had traveled about six hours.

"Well, I think we have everything we need." Luigi said, weighted down by his heavy backpack. He was given food, medicine, a tent, and a few pots. He was also burdened by a new weapon he had received from Kinimanji. The dragon had observed in him his powers to manipulate lightning. He was given a special sword, which could hold the charge of energy better then his hammer could. Mario got a similar weapon. Peach was given ranged weapons- a bow and arrow- which she would have to eventually learn to use. Serphen and Reyva had no weapons. Luigi wondered if they could even fight at all.

He wasn't sure how long they would be traveling but judging by the provisions each of his friends and their two Dragon escorts were given, it would be a long, hard journey. Without Aeolian, Luigi wasn't sure if they would make it.

"To make it to the Barrier Mountains we have to go through an area of darkness." Reyva said, "we must be extremely careful there. Blight affects the land, disease runs rampid, and all the wildlife who enter there become monsters over time, deformed by the darkness. These areas of land are closest to the Citadel, areas of the world that have lost hope and turned to darkness. With our hopeful friend Symphony, however, I think she can get us to the citadel without having to walk through the darkness."

Peach seemed confused. "Isn't the Citadel producing the darkness? So the whole thing should be in this blight?"  
"No, because if it was, Growle and everyone in the Citadel would eventually die. There's an area of sanctuary surrounding the Citadel. And somehow, Growle knows a path to get through his own territory without walking through the blight. Symphony should know that path, and that's why we need her. But there's a ring of darkness surrounding the Barrier Mountains. Even our city's strongest antidotes can't immediately cure the poison of the dark lands." Reyva explained quickly, as if she had recited the lines a thousand times.  
Luigi shivered at the thought. The trek seemed more dangerous then he thought, but he was willing to survive it, for Aeolian's sake. He breathed deeply, unsure when his group was to set out. He waited for some sort of que from Kinimanji, but none came. He then realized that his friends were waiting for _him_.

"Well, here goes something..." Luigi breathed, pointed. "I think we should go now... lead the way, Reyva."

They set off on their quest.

Exiting the Arcane City the way they came, they found themselves once again standing under the brilliant stars in the lush grass of the clearing in the forest. Luigi could once again see the world unfold around him. He could see the Barrier Mountains in the distance, and the Citadel dangerously near it. The trees, however, obscured the vision any lower, and he couldn't see the areas of blackness. He didn't think he wanted to.

The trek continued with little conversation. There was an occasional question asked, and normally answered. They traveled still, until they could no longer hear leaves crunchign under their feet. They had made it to the top of a hill, and Luigi could once again observe the Citadel more clearly, and the area of darkness that surrounded it in the distance. He swallowed hard.

"Terrifying, isn't it?" Serphen sighed. "And to think, Aeolian went there! The only way we can reach him is now, before the king brainwashes him."  
"When will that be? How long does it take?" Mario asked.

"I've seen a brainwashing process." Serphen said, "it starts with interrogation. Then evaluation. Then, a pshycological torment... it takes a few weeks, so I'm sure we'll make it there in time if we stay on schedule."  
There was little else spoken as the Mushroom Kingdom natives followed the Dragons down the hill, and into a rolling green landscape. There wasn't many animals out, Luigi noticed. He wondered where they all went, and why there were so many when they landed.

He saw that once again, they were entering another forest. This one, however, looked much older. The trees were more mature, their roots more muscular and their trunks thicker. There was something about the forest that gave him the chills, but he wasn't sure what it was.

To pass time, he decided to engage conversation with Reyva.

"Reyva, what is Growle like, exactly? Why did he want so much power?"

She sighed. "Well, he was always a rich Dragon. He had a very high place in authority in the Moonstar Clan... he was actually ahead of Kinimanji. He also had many human slaves working for him which upset Kinimanji. Growle actually had a lot of practices that were frowned upon in our society. Soon, he, in his anger towards us, proclaimed that he would start his own clan, where anarchy reigned. However, his 'clan' soon fell, because of his anarchy plans. It didn't work how he wanted, so he started a different government and began to forge his own nation. It was a nation of evil. Many Dragons followed him, and he soon built the Citadel and found that he had enough power to spread his evil reign."

Luigi blinked, still lost in the beginning of her story. "Human slaves?"

"Yes. He picked them up from the Mushroom Kingdom below us. His favorite is a woman named Jennie. She's the only one that doesn't get beaten regularly. Some haven't survived, either..." Reyva looked down as she walked. "Its a very sad thing... he doesn't take care of his slaves very well, the only one he keeps up with regularly is Jennie. She's a very nice woman when she's not talking to Growle."

Luigi smiled at the name. "I haven't heard of her before. Is there anyone that he captured that is from my side of the Mushroom Kingdom?"

"Not that I know of. I wasn't allowed to talk to the slaves. Growle got angry at me every time I tried to socialize with them. One thing I'd like to do when we defeat Grolwe is of course return the slaves, and figure out their names and stuff. I'm so curious about them. I-"

A roar raged through the forest, and the group froze.

"What was that...?" Peach asked, her heart racing.

Serphen pointed. "Look- coming through the trees!"

A gigantic, black beast approached them swiflty, fire in his eyes, foam at the mouth. In a rage, he stomped after them, intent on smashing them.

He was about four times the size of Luigi, with black fur and red eyes. It seemed like a cross between a bear and a mole, with powerful, stubby arms, sharp teeth, and small eyes. It walked on two legs, however.

"Its a Dark Monster! It's been deformed by the areas of darkness! What's it doing out here in the Light?!" Reyva asked herself, flabbergasted. "Get your weapons ready! This'll be one fight!"

Luigi gripped his new sword, both scared, and eager to try it out. Charging it with static energy, he faced the beast alongside Mario. Serphen and Reyva cowered behind them, and Luigi then knew that they, for a fact, couldn't fight at all.

"Ready, Mario!?"

The brothers charged, combining their energies of fire and lightning in their new weapons. They leapt into the air, and pointed their weapons at the beast. With a sizzle and crack, their swords hit the beast, both zapping it and setting its fur ablaze.

It obviously had never experienced this before, but instead of scaring it off, it became angered. The flaming creature roared and charged for Mario, and successuflly grabbed him around the waist and lifted him off the ground.

"Mario!" Luigi yelled as he ran after his brother. He jumped, then stuck his sword inside the beast's hand, causing it to let go of Mario. The two brothers then gathered their weapons again, and ran at the creature once more.

This time, the beast backed away, in extraordinary pain. It had never faced such small but strong creatures, and it then ran away into the forest, leaving the Mario Brothers panting.

"Are you alright, Mario? It put quite a squeeze on you!" Peach ran to her husband in distress.

"I'm fine..." Mario panted, the wind knocked out of him. "Thanks to Luigi," he smiled. "You're braver then I thought you were."

Luigi blushed, "well, I'm not... but I know when the time is right."

Silence.

"How about we set up camp here?" Reyva asked. "We've been walking a while and you two must be warn out after all that jumping and slashing."

Mario and Luigi liked the sound of a break, so they unpacked their tent, helped each other set it up, and went inside with Peach, while Reyva and Serpehn set up their own. Mario, Luigi, and Peach ate a quick snack (they weren't sure if it was breakfast, lunch, or dinner), then climbed into their sleeping bags and rested their eyes, preaparing their minds and bodies for the trek to come.


	16. The Black Plague

A/N You know what? I think I'll still update this daily and only update CC every other day! Because i just can't put down this one for a day! XD When you gotta write, you gotta write! What can I say? Anyway, Luigi fans, youll like this chapter. :3

Luigi: I won't...

Me: Shut up you:3 bashes him over the head Hehehe!  
Anyway this is another long chapter, so... enjoy.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: THE BLACK PLAGUE 

They had been walking since they had woken up, still unsure of the time. Approaching the area of blackness fast, Luigi was not looking forward to what he would find there. They had not encountered any hostile monsters since the one they had defeated. There was little wildlife, most scattered at sight of the group.

The group stopped at a clearing in a forest to eat a light meal, and to discuss their progress.

"We should make it to the area of blackness soon, so I should tell you methods of avoiding the plague..." Reyva said as she prepared her supper over a low fire, "don't touch the plants. Breathe as little as possible. And most importantly, don't fall down or sit on the grass there. It releases the spores of the black plague. If you have to fight, try to destroy your enemy as quickly as possible and try not to stir up the ground."

When her dinner was ready, she took it off the fire and ate it immediately, so it wouldn't cool off at all. Luigi was fascinated at how dragons could eat- they liked their meals as hot as possible, and sometimes, they would place their hands inside the fire, and stuff the flames in their mouth. He had seen Serphen do it, and suck on the crackling sticks from the fire to eat the ashes. He explained that it spiced up his fire-chambers, giving him more of a capacity to breathe fire when he was needed.

"If you can breathe fire, why don't you do it as self defence?" Mario asked as he munched on a mushroom.

"We don't want to waste it. We need to save it for when we really need it, and that's in the Citadel." Serphen replied as he munched on a flaming stick. "Reyva and I aren't fighters. We never were. We were late hatches, our parents and siblings abandoned us, thinking that we were infertile eggs. We were rescued by Kinimanji. He's been known to take in orphans, but he only had one real son, and that's Aeolian, the Prophecy One."

"That's sad," Luigi frowned. "you never knew your parents?"

"Nope. I know they're out there somewhere, but I never met them." Reyva said. "And Serphen is my cousin, but the same happened to him. It happens to a lot of dragons."

"Can't you Mindchat to them?" Mario asked, interested in figuring more about Reyva, who he now trusted.

The purple dragon hummed. "Well, I could. But I don't want to. I don't want to let her into my mind, that mother that abandoned her own child. I don't know what it is, I just don't like her.

"She didn't mean to leave you." Peach said in a caring tone, "oh, Reyva, she is your mother! If she knew you existed, she would love you so very much."

Reyva looked down. "I know, but... I just can't accept it..."

The conversation ended there.

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Growle paced in his citadel, angered.  
Aeolian had not shown up yet. Where was that Dragon and the Black Wind? He needed to start the brainwashing before Luigi and his friends came knocking at his doorstep. He scowled as he stared at his window, watching the sky.

He feared them.

He feared Luigi and his group. He knew what they were capable of- they had made it this far, and that showed a lot of their character. He stopped, and heard one of his servants approach.

The green Dragon, Zin, came to her master and bowed. "My lord," she said, "We've lost touch with the Black Wind. I think he's lost his hold on Aeolian, somewhere in the Black Blight land."

"What?!" Growle boomed, threatening to strike Zin.

Zin cowered, throwing her hands over her head as she hunched at the floor, shivering. "But my lord... this means Aeolian... is within our reach... the Black Wind got him this far."

"Fine, fine..." Growle rubbed his temples with his claws, then said, "take Malidor, Ironclaw, and Malice with you and go find him before those Mario Brothers do! I don't want them finding Aeolian! My rule hangs by a thread! This means that everything that I give you, Zin, will be gone unless you go now!"  
Zin knew well the benefits of being a Moonshard. Growle paid her in hefty sums of money, and she had so much more power and protection then the people below her, who were losing hope. She knew that if Aeolian was recovered, he would find a way to destroy them.

She quickly left the citadel to locate her group. They had to find Aeolian!

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Beneath their feet was the Blight.

A land drained of energy, of light, of life.  
The ground beneath them, with every step they laid upon it, shriveled and puffed smoke. There were no stars above them, the only light they followed was the glow of the sky away from the darkness. At times Mario had to create a fireball so they could see where they were going better- one falter, one trip, and it was a chance of contracting Blight.

No one had much to say as they walked- their minds were focused on getting out of the blight and onto the Barrier Mountains before someone became ill.

Luigi walked single-mindedly towards the mountains, determination in his steps. Aeolian was out there- and he needed to find him before something terrible happened. He turned to look at his friends behind him, who were also determined to finish the fight. Luigi smiled behind his mustache, then said, "We're almost there..."

Serphen returned Luigi's smile, but then, his smile vanished as he noticed some strange movement nearby. "Do you see that?"

Everyone turned to see where Serphen was pointing to. There was dust in the black ground that seemed to be swirling in a small vortex. A small cyclone of darkness began to pick up in that area, and there was a howl of wind around them.

Luigi shivered.

"Its... him..." Reyva said. "The Black Wind! But if that's him, where is Aeolian!?"  
The cyclone began to take form, and the onlookers could only watch, frozen to the ground. They saw the cyclone take form into a shadowy dragonlike being. He seemed to rise out of the smoke of the ground, yet he was not a complete being. He was like an image of smoke and shadow.

He reached out a smoky arm towards Luigi and pointed. Wind howled.

Mario stepped in front of Luigi and demanded, "what do you want with him!?"

Wind seemed to be the creature's voice. It sounded like a moan of both pain and anger. Mario did not pity the beast, no matter how pained it sounded. He watched as it took a step forward, its body becoming more solid then shadow as it emerged.

"Where is Aeolian!?" Mario demanded. "Speak, creature!"

The Black Wind still did not speak. Its jaw quivered, and its hideous eyes glowed. Then, without warning, it lunged for Mario and Luigi.

Mario and Luigi drew their swords, preparing for battle, but suddenly, there was a _twang_, and a split second later, the Black Wind howled, an arrow stuck from his eye. Princess Peach had shot it in the eye!  
"Now, Mario! It's stunned!" She cried, and Mario leapt forward, holding his flaming blade. Luigi followed, his sword gleaming with energy.

Mario lunged for the creature's arm, and sliced at it. His sword failed to go all the way through, but he managed to put a deep cut in its arm. The Black Wind screeched, staggering as it made a grab for the new wound. Then, in a rage, it made a lunge for Mario.

Mario jumped aside, letting the Black Wind stagger. He then attempted to counterattack, but the Black Wind seeped into the ground and reappeared behind Mario, raising its claws. It slashed Mario across the back. Mario staggered forward, growling with pain.

The Black Wind howled, showing rows of sharp teeth, then he attempted to finish off Mario while he was stunned. It charged forward, unaware of Luigi's speed.

Luigi jumped in front of it, aiming his sword dead center and planting his feet in the ground. The Black Wind slammed into both Luigi and Mario at once, but Luigi's sword had managed to go through its body. Smoke, instead of blood, oozed from the wound.

Mario kept his footing, but Luigi was knocked down as the Black Wind fell forward. He rolled across the ashy ground, then came to a stop at a stone.

The Black Wind wrenched the sword from its body, shivering with pain. It dropped the steel weapon, then staggered backwards. Without a second thought, it vanished into the ground.

"He's not very tough," Mario said, "no wonder he's so sneaky... he tries to avoid fights" He then turned to Luigi, who was rising up out of the ground. Mario then remembered what Reyva had said about the Blight, and a look of fear came across his face.

He slowly exchanged glances with Reyva.  
"What do we do?" He asked.

Luigi wasn't sure what they were talking about. "What's wrong?" he asked, examining the horrified expressions of his friends. Was it something he said? He wasn't sure why they were looking at him so strangely.

"Luigi, you..." Reyva breathed quietly, "you fell into the Blight..."

Luigi blinked, then realized what he had done. "Oh..." He swallowed, and could feel his teeth chattering with fear.  
Reyva dashed forward and grabbed his hands. "Take your gloves off!"

Luigi, in a daze, removed his gloves, showing chaliced hands. Reyva took one of his hands and lifted it to examine it. She grimaced with thought, then announced fearfully, "his skin is turning black around his fingertips... if it spreads to his vital organs... he won't have long to live. The spread is very rapid- in just two hours he'll be covered in darkness!"

Peach clapped her hands over her mouth, and Mario began blabbering hysterically, asking many questions at once. Luigi himself was still in a daze, his reaction was both of fear and uncertainty. How could something happen so fast? He felt no different. Then again, if he thought about it, he could definitely feel something changing within him, but he wasn't sure what it was.  
She dropped Luigi's hand, refusing to look at his expression, then said quickly, "there's a cure- but first we need to get out of the Blackness and pray that Symphony has the antidote!"


	17. Symphony Between Life and Death

A/N: This has been my favorite chapter so far to write, and you can kind of tell, because of how I described things. I've always loved that race between life and death scenario. It gives me the chills every time I write it.

Luigi: You're so... mean...

Me: -throws a dead fish at Luigi – Meh.

Luigi: EW! GYAAH! -runs away-

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: SYMPHONY BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH

"Now, Luigi," Reyva explained to him in a serious tone, her yellow eyes intense, "I've never seen anyone react to Blight. I don't know the symptoms, I don't know what it does. I only have been able to study things I do know about Blight- you'll eventually die. So I need you to tell me how you feel. Can you walk? Can you feel your fingers?"

Luigi cringed, then said, "my mouth feels dry... my fingers are tingling, as if they're on fire yet I can't feel the burning. I feel... so cold... colder then I should..." He staggered, and Mario grabbed his shoulders and steadied him. "I... I've never felt like this before... I'm... losing the feeling... to my feet..."

"I think someone should carry him," Mario said, "just in case. We don't want him falling back into the Blight again..."

Serphen lifted Luigi off his feet and carried him in his arms without a second word. "We need to hurry- now!" He said. Serphen was normally the quiet one, but when he had his mind set to something, it was impossible to turn him around.

Reyva followed her cousin, looking over his shoulder at Luigi. Serphen was shorter then Reyva, yet he was larger. If anyone was suited for carrying Luigi to the Barrier Mountains, it was him.

Peach fell into step with Reyva as they hastily moved across the dark lands, "what's happening? Can you keep me up to date with Luigi? Is he getting worse?"  
Reyva watched Luigi, who was gradually beginning to weaken, even in Serphen's arms. His breaths were staggering and irregular, his eyelids drooped, and his head dropped, as if he didn't have enough energy to even keep himself erect. The Blight had also begun to seep in around his ears and was gradually growing inward. Soon, Reyva knew, his entire body would be black and cold.

"Its getting much worse," Reyva said fearfully. "Hang on, Luigi! We'll make it to the mountains as soon as possible!"

"Can't you fly, Reyva?! Serphen!?" Mario demanded.  
"Not faster then I can run," Serphen replied in-between breaths as he sprinted along with the others. "Look at me, I'm fat!" He backed up his statement. He leapt over a few stones, then jumped over a small crevice in the ground. He was ahead of the others, who were running out of energy.

Mario began to slow down. "We'll... we'll catch up, Serphen!" he called, gasping for breath.

Peach took his hand and said, "...we need to hurry... for Luigi's sake..."

Mario knew that there was no time for breaks. He took a canteen from his backpack, took a swig, gave it to Peach, and continued running. His wife followed close behind.

For Luigi, the journey was his worst nightmare.

Darkness tugged at the corners of his vision, and each time he blinked, colors flashed around him. He had completely lost the feeling of his hands and feet, and he could feel it working up into his legs. His mind swam, and he shivered with a certain cold that he could not possibly warm up from. Every fear he had- every single fear crept into his mind, and he began to hallucinate. Death, sickness, destruction- the world around him seemed consumed in his own phobias.

He found himself talking out loud- shouting his brother's name, "Mario! Mario! ...don't... give up... fight... fight with... us..."

He wasn't sure where the words came from. Perhaps it was from his past, when they were battling Bowser. Was it from the future? Did he even have a future? Throughout his dillusion, he knew that his life was hanging by a thread- and the knife of death was threatening to cut it.  
"Luigi's hallucinating!" Serphen yelled back to his cousin, who was hanging back with the humans. "He seems to think he's in some sort of battle!"

"He is." Mario replied, "he's in the battle of life and death..."

0000000000

They were out of the Blight. The Barrier Mountains loomed over them, and somewhere near its peak, was a lonely cottage- their target destination.

Serphen was far ahead of the others, for determination was surging through his weakened body- the same determination that fueled his should-be exhausted form. The young man in his arms depended on him- he depended on his health, he depended on his speed. Serphen would not give in to the temptation of rest.

Serphen shifted Luigi into one arm, then jumped and grabbed a handhold with his free hand. He used his tail as balance as he leapt up on the cliffside, careful not to drop Luigi. He knew Luigi still had time to live- his skin had not completely gone black yet, but he was fading fast. Luigi's breath had gone from irregular to a staggering wheeze, every inhale came with a shiver, every exhale with a hint of pain. His life depended on three things- Serphen's speed, Symphony's hospitality and willingness to help, and his own will to live.

Serphen was halfway up the mountain when Reyva and the others came too. They were drained, but they were also determined on being there for Luigi when they made it to Symphony. Mario knew that his brother may have a better chance of living if he stood at Luigi's side.

Serphen, now nearly at Symphony's house, spread out his wings and attempted to fly the rest of the way- he believed things would go faster. However, there was a draft of air, which knocked him down. He grabbed handholds, sliding partially downwards before gathering himself and leaping up from the cliffside.

At last, he made it to flat ground at the top of the cliff. He found himself gazing at the house of Symphony, a humble little cabin built from wood from the forests. He quickly ran to the door, breathing hard as he knocked on it, trying to show desperation in the sound of the knocks.

"Coming, coming, I'm coming." A heavily annoyed voice sounded from behind the door, then it opened, revealing a silver-and-teal scaled dragon.

"Who are you?" She demanded to Serphen before noticing Luigi.

"Who I am doesn't matter... Symphony, please... this man... needs medicine..." Serphen breathed quickly.  
Symphony looked down at Luigi. "What's in it for me?" She asked.

"You won't be killed by Growle, in the long run! This man is the caretaker of Aeolian the Prophecy!"

"You mean... the offspring of the Stars and Moons?!" Symphony seemed flabbergasted. "Well, why didn't you say so? Bring him in here- you're lucky I have the antidote!"

Just as Serphen stepped foot inside Symphony's house, Mario and the others had caught up. They ran into the room with Serphen.

Inside was warm and crisp, there was a fireplace nearby, a long couch, and a few chairs.

"Take a seat, you all." Symphony called. "Alright, yellow, you give me the human."  
Serphen handed Symphony Luigi, and she took him and laid him on her couch while Mario, Peach, and Reyva pulled up the chairs around Luigi and examined him. Symphony disappeared into another room, and soon returned with a small vial of liquid.

"Alright, who knows the guy the best?"

Mario raised his hand. "I do. So do I feed it to him?"

"Yeah, the whole thing. It tastes terrible but if he can't feel his tongue, he should be able to drink the whole thing without complaining." Symphony handed the complete stranger the vial, and Mario quickly wrenched off the cap and shoved the vial into his brother's mouth.

Luigi coughed at first, but soon swallowed the liquid. He gave no other reaction as he lie on the couch, stone still.

"When... when will it kick in?" Peach asked, resting a hand on Luigi's forehead.

"A few hours," Symphony replied as she took a nearby seat. "Now then... I want to know who you all are and more about this Aeolian. Tell me everything."

"I'm Mario of the Mushroom Kingdom. My brother Luigi found an egg in a forest in the Mushroom Kingdom, and turns out it was Aeolian, the child of Kinimanji and his Moonshard wife. I guess we neglected to ask him about his wife when we met him, because we didn't see her."

"I know the story." Symphony crossed her legs, "She died. Simple as that."

"From what?"

"The same thing this here Luigi has. The Blight."

"Oh, that's terrible," Peach moaned. "Poor Kinimanji! And now his only son is struggling out there, probably in the hands of Growle already."

"Say what?!" Symphony jumped out of her chair. "Hold on hold on. So the reason you came here was to find me so you could break into Growle's Citadel right?! So this is the whole reason you came across the Blight Lands in the first place!? _Aeolian the Prophecy_ is in the hands of _Growle_!?

She slapped her forehead. "This is insane! Now I may be an outcast but no way am I joining Growle or succumbing to the Blight! I care about this world and if this Prophecy falls to Growle- everything will be consumed in darkness!"

She walked to Luigi. "So he's the one who found Aeolian? And you're pretty sure he's the one that'll rescue Aeolian?"

"Yes." Reyva said. "The prophecy mentioned someone else being involved in Aeolian redeeming the world. Not Aeolian alone will be the key to our salvation. This man you see- if he dies, the prophecy will be rendered... obsolete."

Luigi seemed to know they were talking about him, and the potion was slowly beginning to kick in. he opened his eyes, then breathed, "am I... missing anything...?"

"Luigi!" Mario cried, his eyes brimming with tears. "He's waking up!" he couldn't help but to state the obvious, because it was extremely exciting to him.

"It'll still be an hour or two before he completley regains his health..." Symphony replied. "Oh, by the way, I'm Symphony. But you probably already know that. The notorious Shadowblender." She grinned. "Don't get me wrong, I don't hold anything against Kinimanji for banishing me, and I like it over here. Its close enough to the citadel and close enough to the only opening in the Blight Lands."  
"That's exactly why we need you." Serphen replied as he rested in a chair, "I hope you're willing to lead us through the Blight Lands and show us into the Citadel..."  
"Of course I am! I'll be rewarded greatly by helping you guys!" Symphony said. "Now all we have to do is wait for your friend there to wake up, and I'll be sure to lead you into the Black Citadel."

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A/N: Okay, of course I couldn't kill Luigi. You knew he wouldn't die, right? But it was fun writing it. And I hope you have just as much fun reading it. ;)


	18. Matters of Importance

A/N: My main computer that I do my stories with... exploded... under no circumstances whatsoever. It just... decided to explode. So here I am on my secondary computer, and I'm not used to the keyboard so expect spelling errors extravoganza. Don't worry, all the files on my other PC are fine. I just need to repair the parts of it that exploded. liXD

Oh and also expect this chapter to be relatively short.

0000000000000

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: MATTERS OF IMPORTANCE

"I don't think Peach and I have heard any of the prophecies." Mario said as he sat on the couch near his recovering brother Luigi. Fighting the blight, Luigi was slowly beginning to regain his color and stature. He could listen to the conversation but was unable to give much input.

"Well, I can't remember it in exact words," began Reyva, tapping her chin, "but it mentions the offspring of the Stars and Moon, rising from thunder, destined to free his people from tyranny alongside the power of green thunder and the strength of red flames, emerging from the shadows and harnessing the power of the light of the clouds. I'm certain that the Stars and Moon represent the clans of dragons, and the green thunder represents Luigi, and the red flame repersents Mario. I'm not sure what it means by harnessing the power of the clouds. And emerging from the shadows... it was unclear until now but I think it has to do with Symphony."

Symphony smiled, then said, "probably, considering the scenario. But what about you all? You're not mentioned in the prophecy, so how will you play through this?"

"Just because we aren't mentioned doesn't mean the prophecy means for us not to help. Perhaps the writer just didn't have enough room to fit all the people involved, because there has been quite a few of our allies helping us through this." Peach said. "Remember Trott and Briney? They were so helpful to us all. We don't need recongnition to feel the glory of being apart of the redemption of this world. And there's no way in this planet that will make me leave Mario's side, or Luigi for that matter!"

"Well said, sugar!" Mario winked at her. Then he said, "so I'm apart of this prophecy too? Why didn't you say this before?"

"Because it wasn't so clear," Reyva said, "and Luigi stood out stronger in the prophecy's writings. He's mentioned twice, both times he's portrayed as thunder. So, Mario, where did you and Luigi get your elemental powers?"

"We've always had them," Mario replide. "I'm not entirely sure where they came from... perhaps when Luigi and I were babies, we found something. People tell us that we've been to quite a few places as babies, places we can't remember ever going to. There's some rumor that we were even rescued by Yoshis, but I'm not quite sure." He finished witha chuckle. People also tell us we've been rivals with Bowser since then too!" He chuckled.

Sometime while Mario was talking, Luigi began to rise to a sitting position. He couldn't help but to smile at everyone's excited expressions. He then said, "sorry... for, you know... the delay..."

"Oh, Luigi, its not your fault! We're just glad you're alright!" Peach said. "And Serphen! YOu gave him a workout! He deserves a nice reward when we get back home."

Blushing, Serphen refused to speak.

"I just... wish I had paid more close attention to my footing... I'm sure this never would've happened if I just paid closer attention to the Black Wind."

"Wait." Symphony jumped in. "The Black Wind is still alive?!"

"You know him?"

"Of course I do, he was my mentor!" Symphony yelled. "Where is he? YOu were fighting him? What did he do that made you so mad?"

Mario burst out with a flabbergasted laugh, as if he believed Symphony's words to be a joke. "He's evil, he kidnapped Aeolian and was taking him to the Citadel!"

"But... he wouldn't do that!" Symphony said, her eyes full of grief. "He's a good Dragon with a pure heart!"

"Would a pure heart do this!?" Reyva yelled. "Either he was brainwashed or he switched sides, because he's not the man you once knew, Symphony."

Reyva did not realize how hard her words are, and she could see Symphony's eyes filling with tears. They then realied that the relationship Symphony had with the Black Wind was stronger then they thought it was. She seemingly loved him. They then wondered how they seperated, and why, and why Symphony believed this love of hers to be dead, if he was her love.

"Symphony,I'm sorry, but... its true..." Peach told her sadly. "The Black Wind kidnapped Aeolian and attacked Luigi. What he did was evil."

Symphony sniffed and wiped away a stray tear with a claw. "HIs real name... is Opus... but the Black Wind was the name he chose for himself when he was out on the hunt, stealing food to support himself, for no one would want to hire a Shadowblender. He taught me how to Shadowblend because I was an orphan and had no social status. He saved my life... how could he betray me!?" She demanded, not expecting an answer. "Okay, so its painfully obvious I love him! And I am not giving up on him! I bet he was brainwashed by Growle! Now I'm REALLY mad! We need to leave now!"

As she stood up and began packing a few things, the others did not come up with her.

"Luigi is still unwell..." Reyva said.

"I"m fine," Luigi began to stand up slowly, but he fell back down. Mario grabbed him before he collided with the floor. "I... I can do this. There isn't any more time to waste..."

"Well, he is right..." Serphen replied. "I guess I could carry him a bit longer... but I"m still a bit exhausted."

"I can walk on my own." Luigi said. "I just need to... get the feeling back in my legs..."

After a few staggering steps, with Mario following behind him, Luigi was soon moving swiftly without aid. Symphony would not wait, she had already left out the door, forcing the others to hurry without a second thought.


	19. Infiltrating the Black Citadel

A/N: I apologize for the lack of updates yesterday, I just found it too hard to work on my other computer. The one that blew up has been repaired and all my files recovered. To make up for it I'll update twice sometime this week when I have the time to.

Also for those of you also reading CC, I'll update twice in that one too.

Luigi: I'm... ALIVE:D

Me: Yup... -gets out a chain saw- BUT NOT FOR LONG:)

Luigi: ...!

CHAPTER NINETEEN: INFILTRATING THE BLACK CITADEL

The unpleasantly familiar smell of sulfur and brimstone attacked the senses of the small raiding group as Symphony led them back down the slope on the other side of the mountain. Symphony was leading them through a narrow route in the Blight- directly towards the Citadel. She leapt skillfully over stones and boulders as though she had done it a thousand times over. The others had more difficulty keeping up with the determined, lovestruck dragon.

Looking over her shoulder, Symphony urged the others to keep up. Fire was in her eyes.

"Hang on, Symphony!" Reyva yelled, stumbling over a rock as she grabbed Mario by the back straps, who had just fallen himself.

"Whoa!" Mario cringed as Reyva accidentally dangled him over a ledge, and he could see that it would be a long, painful descent if she dropped him.

"We're doing the best we can!" Reyva continued with exasperation as she set Mario back on steady ground. The Italian plumber breathed heavily before continuing his excursion.

Serphen and Luigi were farther back. The yellow Dragon was following close behind Luigi, just in case he fell. Serphen seemed to think of himself now as Luigi's bodyguard, after he had been responsible for his life before. He felt like his duty was not over yet.

"Uh, Luigi..." he began, "did Reyva or I tell you about the story of the Guardian Dragons?"

"Hm, no I don't think so." Luigi said, stepping carefully over a misplaced stone. "Why?"

"There's a legend in our world about three Dragons... they descended from the Dragon Kingdom to live among the humans many years ago. They had a special power to take the shape of any creature. Some think that this Shapeshifting is derived from Shadowblending, except it is an even harder power to master. That's why no one we know can Shapeshift because only two known Dragons can Shadowblend."

"This sounds good," Mario called, listening to the conversation as he stopped walking to fall into step with Serphen. "Why didn't you mention this before?"

"Well, I didn't think it was very important... until now." Serphen said, "you see, the legends say that these three Dragons Shapeshifted into a form that looked similar to themselves. A small dinosaur species named Yoshi. They took this form so they could live with and study humans closely without causing panic or experiments. Turns out that these Yoshis each were put into a situation where a human was in grave danger. The Yoshis rescued these humans and stuck with them as their companions until either one or the other died. I'm just summing up the story here, you know, but... these Dragons became bodyguards to the humans for life.

"I think there's a little more then a legend here... for I believe that each Dragon, when in a certain situation... is bonded with a human they are to save. As with me and Luigi... and you and Mario."

"What?" Reyva yelled.

"I've seen it. You've always been saving him from falling off stuff. You don't want him to get hurt, do you?"

"Well, he's better off alive then half dead," she replied, unsure what Serphen was proposing.

"What I'm saying is that I think that we should be bodyguards to these humans until the day one of us dies. Dragons live a long time, but that doesn't stop the sword."

Serphen then announced boldly, "Well, Luigi, no matter the peril, I'll stick with you through that castle until the end. I'll make sure you make it back to the Mushroom Kingdom safely, along with any other human we rescue from Growle."

Luigi stopped walking and glanced at Serphen. He couldn't help but to smile, then he said, "thank you, Serphen. And I hope I'll be able to return the favor to you. You know, saving my life and all. I mean, I mean, not that I actually WANT there to be a situation where you're close to death, but you know... if I can, I'll help..."

Serphen smiled, "well, then... onward!"

0000000000

"We're here. The Black Citadel." Reyva announced, without any need to. They were now standing under the shadow of the Citadel, the gargantuan symbol of evil. "Every time I imagine the face of evil... I see this." Symphony continued grudgingly, "this, and the face of Growle. I tell you, if he brainwashed my beloved Opus, I'll rip out every scale on his body and boil them one by one until he's gone!"

Mario and Luigi exchanged glances, afraid to tell Reyva that they had actually greatly wounded the Black Wind. They found themselves hoping that he was still alive, so perhaps if Growle was killed his mind would be restored.

"Well, what are we waiting for?! Aeolian's in there!" Reyva cried, "lead the way Symphony! Break us into the Black Citadel!"

Symphony nodded, then said boldly, "there's a crack in the wall that I discovered years ago that Growle has never repaired. It leads into the Citadel's sewer system. From inside the best way to get out is a large drain hole that's in the washroom. Its wide enough that I think Serphen could fit through it, no offence to your size."

"None taken," Serphen replied, waving his hands with a smile. "I take full responsibility for my size. Let's just say I love food."

"Well, let's get this party started!" Symphony charged for the side of the Citadel.

0000000000

"Welcome, welcome, Aeolian the Prophecy!"

Aeolian struggled under the tight restraints of chains. Malice, Zin, Ironclaw, and Malidor stood at each side of Aeolian, making sure he had no way of escaping."

"Your scales are beginning to shine. I can see them changing colors." Growle started the conversation lightly, walking over to Aeolian, his toeclaws tapping on the hard marble floors. "Adolescent. Young. Hopefully violent." he spoke. "You have my agents to thank for rescuing you from the Blight, dear boy."

Aeolian growled, puffing smoke from his nostrils. "Where are my friends?!" he demanded. "Why am I here!? How did you capture me!?"

"I'm not the one to have the honors. It was the Black Wind!"

Suddenly, the shadows in the room merged and joined into Opus's dark body.

"He's a thousand years old. As black as they come. And he's the perfect Shadowblender to tap into your subconscious and tell you exactly where you need to go without your brain knowing what you're thinking."  
Opus was tightly bandaged, mortally wounded, but alive.

"Why is he hurt...?" Aeolian asked, knowing that he was under full restraint and could not fight back, so the best thing he could do is get all the information he could. He now knew how Growle captured him, and he regretted letting down the guard of his mind. He remembered his father told him to guard his mind and his heart. Why had he neglected those words?

"He won't say." Growle murmured. "He won't say anything. He _never_ says anything. After I brainwashed the poor fellow he's never said a word since. Its as though he's forgotten who he really is and is in a mental state of confusion."  
Growle spoke and paced at the same time. He had made his way over to the Black Wind and stood next to him. "He's even forgotten his own beloved." Growle cackled. "He told me he was engaged when I captured him. He begged me to free him and let him at least marry his fiance."

"You're a cold, heartless, unmerciful, devious man!" Aeolian cried as he struggled in his chains. "Let the Black Wind go! Restore his conscious!"

"Why would I do that?! The world is at my hands now, and soon, your conscious will be mine as well!" Growle yelled, jabbing an icy finger at Aeolian.

"Luigi will come..." Aeolian breathed as he stopped struggling. He knew he would be outnumbered even if he did manage to break free. There was six enemies in the room and only one of him. "Luigi will save me..."

"You're putting your faith in a petty place. The hands of a plumber is in no way mighty!"

"You don't have to be a monarch to be mighty!" Aeolian cried. "You don't have to be a soldier to be strong!" His voice began to calm down and became a whisper as he finished, "and you underestimate... the strength of the meek..."

0000000000

"Oh, good grief, it reeks..."

Princess Peach was sitting atop Mario's shoulders as he waded through a thick slime. It was him who suggested it- the last thing he wanted was his wife getting covered with the stuff. He and Luigi, this time, were ahead of the Dragons, who preferred flying over the rancid material, but they had to take frequent breaks, forced back into the very thing they tried to avoid.

"So, tell me Symphony, how often do you do this?" Reyva's voice was distorted, for she had one claw on her nose.

"Oh, you get used to it..." Symphony said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, she's kind of right." Luigi replied. "Mario and I are plumbers. We've seen this kind of stuff too often."

"Hey, we're almost there." Symphony butted in as she pointed to a ladder place conveniently under a drain hole.

The group quickly made their way to the ladder, eager to get out of the sewer and into the Citadel. Apparently, anything was better then there. They found themselves emerging in a large shower room, through a hole just big enough for Serphen to squeeze through.

"I guess we'll start this fight smelly and gross," Reyva complained. "Then again, what better way to fight is there?"

They stood in the washroom for a moment, thinking. "So, what's the plan of action?" Asked Peach, getting down from Mario's shoulders.

"We find Aeolian. He's probably in the dungeons, as Growle would have it. The best way to get there would be to leave this washroom east and get past the guards. I'd prefer stealth, but you guy seem to have the brute force covered."  
Luigi, though he had lost his sword when he fought Opus, still had his hammer, and he gripped it from his belt. "I'm ready. Are you, Mario?"

Mario unsheathed his weapon. "Yeah." He said. "We're ready when you are, Symphony. Lead the way!"


	20. Of Torture and Defeat

A/N: Luigi angst alert! BIG one coming up! Oh, and its pretty much pain for everyone this time around but Luigi gets the worst of it. And this chapter is also, pretty much, a climax. A BIG climax. Not the end. But a climax. So, have fun! XD

Luigi: I wont...

Me: Shut up you! -revs up chainsaw-

Luigi: Why are you so mean!?

Me: Because I luvs you. :3

Luigi: ...is love pain? 

Me: Yes it is. But we're getting off the subject. Anywho-erino, I was thinking. Perhaps by now this story exceeds its K rating. I hate rating my stuff T because then people might think of it as obscene. I do NOT write obscenity. Its just violence. But since Luigi gets tortured in this chapter, I was just thinking... I'm not quite sure. But to all ye reaing this if you believe it should be rated T now let me know. Because there's no coarse language or adult themes, so I'm not sure what to say at this point.

CHAPTER TWENTY: OF TORTURE AND DEFEAT

An explosion of electricity and fire echoed through the deep hallways of the Citadel's first floor. The two brothers clashed with such ferocity and determination that could cause an enemy to shake and tremble. This was the hour of it all- and they couldn't afford to lose.

Glowing with electricity, Luigi struck the first guard with his hammer across his chest, sending the dragon spiraling to the ground. Mario jumped at the second guard, aiming his sword dead center. As they were holding off the enemies, Symphony slipped through the wall, Shadowblending into the darkness. Reyva and Serphen merely watched, explaining that it was best they save their fire for finding Aeolian.

After defeating the enemies, Mario and Luigi stayed their weapons, then said, "now what?"

"Through this door!" Reyva wrenched open a cold, steel door. "Hurry!"

They dashed through the newly revealed opening, their feet clicking across the hard floors. Soon thereafter, another enemy came into view- and Luigi recongnized him and cringed. It was ironclaw. He seemed slightly shocked, yet also slightly prepared, for the Mario Brothers to storm the Citadel.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Mario and Luigi, the plumbers!" he hissed. "Growle is aware of your presence. You come and attack in vain! He's already brainwashing your Prophecy and your hope!"

"No!" Luigi cried, running forth at Ironclaw. The dragon just smirked, and readied his unnaturally long and sharp claws. Chasing after his brother, Mario unsheathed his sword and dashed with incredible speed.

Ironclaw sheilded himself from an attack from Luigi, then whipped his tail around and tripped Mario, who dropped his sword and was sent spinning across the ground. Luigi twisted and aimed for the stomach, but Ironclaw jumped backwards.

Mario gathered his footing, took his sword, and lunged again. The orange dragon slid to the left, causing Mario to stumble forth. However, he quickly recovered and spun to the left, holding his weapon out wide. He managed to nip the dragon on the arm.

Princess Peach knew that she was needed. With dead accuracy she shot Ironclaw in the hand, causing him to screech with miserable pain. She stayed her weapons, not wanting to kill him, but wanting to protect her husband and friend.

Luigi leapt into action, gripping his hammer tightly, ready to face the peril. A thunderclap rang in his ears as he sent an electric surge through Ironclaw with his hammer. Mario retaliated, sending a flaming fireball into Ironclaw.

The Dragon staggered backward, and collapsed. "You've... improved." He breathed with a grimace, "but this is not enough to stop us..."

The Mario Brothers let him rise again. Ironclaw dropped his stance, then growled as he turned and ran.

"What!? Kill him!" Symphony said, appearing from nearby.

"He can't do more damage." Luigi said, watching him. "You need to continue leading us to the dungeons."

"Fine, fine." Symphony said, "but remember, these are the enemies, and we need to show them no mercy!"

"No. You're wrong." Mario said, sheathing his sword, which had released its blaze of fire and had returned to cold steel, "Showing them no mercy makes us just as wrong as they are. To be the better person- to show them the same love we would want from them- is what distinguishes good from evil."

"Sounds like you've had a while to think about that..." Serphen said, intrested in Mario's words.

"I have." Mario said, a deep thought in his eyes. "In all worlds, I think evil need to be shown love and compassion more then our allies, for this is what they lack. This is a piece of them that is missing. If we restore that... there's a chance that they could change."

"Then why do you fight them?"

"Because then comes justice before mercy. But we won't knock them down without reason. If given the opportunity, we show mercy. This is what we do."

There wasn't much else spoken as the group continued following Symphony down the halls.

They continued, fighting any guard that came to them, letting them escape if they could, leaving them if they were knocked out. Soon, they had made it to a gigantic door, which was locked.

"This is where Shadowblending comes in." Symphony popped her fingers. "I'll go on the other side and unlock the door. Then I'll let you in."

Without waiting for a reply, Symphony sank into the shadows and disappeared. Suddenly, the door creaked on rusted hinges and opened wide. Without hesitation, the group continued down a deep cellar, which soon opened into a dark and miserable looking room.

"Aeolian!" Luigi cried, leaping into the room with his weapon held high. As he expected, he saw the four familiar dragons, one who was sitting in a corner, being nursed by the green one. Luigi looked past them, and could see Growle pacing near a chained Aeolian, who's scales seemed more vibrant and fluctuate between green an and white.

"Looks like the fun has arrived." Zin said over her shoulder as she tugged at the arrow in Ironclaw's hand. He growled as she pulled it out.

Malidor popped his fingers and took his staff. Malice rose and grinned a toothy smile. "Lord Growle, they're here."

Growle spun around and walked towards them, expressionless, and then said, "very well." He looked up at the determined plumbers, careful princess, and three dragons. "Do you think I fear you? All six of you are pathetic, miserable creatures!"

He flung his hands outwards, and icicles shot out of his fingertips like claws. "This world is mine! This _pathetic_ world is _mine_! With Aeolian at my side, no one will claim it! Not even you!"

He lifted his head and said, "Attack!"

It began.

Ironclaw, who had just been defeated, stayed back, but Growle had taken his place, and Luigi knew he would not so easily fall. The icy dragon ran alongside three other enemies, his mouth open and showing ice cold teeth.

Mario and Luigi stood their ground, and allowed Peach to begin the fight, shooting arrows aimed at Growle's eye. He dodged one arrow, the other, he tried to dodge, but it hit him in the shoulder. The third grazed his chest, but flew by and hit Malidor behind him in the side. 

Growle, hissing with pain, was only angered. He first lunged for Luigi. The green Plumber leapt to meet him in combat with his lightning powers.

Mario took on Malidor and Zin both at once. Serphen, Reyva, and Symphony had joined the fight, and hit with a bang. Both Serphen and Reyva took on Malice, breathing heavy, colorful fire towards him. The fire was so strong and mighty that it burned Malice's armor to a crisp and sent him staggering backwards.

"Symphony! Why don't you free Aeolian?" 

"Growle has the key!" She cried, pointing to an iron keyring at Growle's side. "We bring him down, Aeolian's ours!" 

Luigi nodded, and then received a heavy blow to the chest. He staggered, and Mario jumped in, protecting him from Growle. His sword flaming, he charged for the beast in an epic conflict between fire and ice.

Growle, however, was prepared.

He took both hands, and clapped them across the flat of Mario's blade. He wrenched the weapon out of Mario's hands and then leapt backwards, thrusting his head down and his feet up in an inverted bicycle kick. He thrust Mario forth, sending him crashing into a wall.

"Mario!" Peach cried, dropping her bow as she stared at her husband, who was struggling to his feet.

Zin flew over to him and stepped on his back. "Sorry, hon. You ain't goin' nowhere!" 

"Mario! NO!" Luigi screamed, leaping into the action with his war hammer. He smashed Growle's arm, then blew past him and ran for his brother. Malidor, however, jumped in front of him.

"Sorry, plumber!" He sneered, then spun his staff and charged for Luigi.

Luigi parried with his hammer, then lunged for Malidor, but his speed was incredible. He was able to dodge Luigi and counterattack with his staff.

The cold steel collided with Luigi's body and sent him plummeting to the floor. He hit the ground so hard that he rebounded, and then Malidor grabbed him by the straps of his overalls and shook him. "You have been too much trouble for us, sir! You deserve nothing more then a severe punishment- before death!"

He flung the defenceless man back down to the ground. Luigi was sent spinning across the floor. He landed next to Aeolian's confinement.

For a moment, nothing else in the world mattered to Luigi. He looked up into Aeolian's fearful eyes. The dragon was already being effected by the brainwashing. He blinked, staring into Luigi's eyes, seeing past the pain and tears and into his heart. The voices around him, the voices of his friends fighting, were far back in his mind. 

"Luigi..." Aeolian said.

Luigi coughed, then his eyes began to close.

"No! Don't give up!"

Luigi struggled to stand back up.

"No! Look behind you! Growle!"

Luigi felt himself being picked up by the back straps. He swallowed, then felt himself being turned around, wrenched away from his dragon.

"Look, you little whelp!" Growle pointed, and Luigi could see all his friends were all being held down by a dragon, Malice with both Mario and Peach. As he looked at them, he noticed that Symphony was gone. There was a flicker of hope left in him- but he did not show it. He dared not show it. If he looked even the slightest hopeful, Growle could suspect something.

_Run, Symphony..._ he thought, _we're counting on you now..._

"Your little friends are nothing now!" He cackled. "You will all make good slaves for me! And when I'm done with you, I'll let Aeolian eat you when he follows me as my complete second-in-command!"

While still carrying Luigi, Growle began pacing and said, "you are impressive, however, making it this far... yet this whole mess is your fault in the first place!" He slammed Luigi against the wall with anger as he spoke. Luigi gasped with the sudden pain, and his head dropped.

Growle wrenched an arrow from his shoulder, then said, "you even managed to dent me. I must say you have been very impressive. You will make a good slave. As soon as I'm done teaching you a lesson."

He took nearby chains that were hanging from the wall, and clapped the wrist and ankle restraints about him. Soon, the defeated Luigi was hanging from the wall.

"No! NO! LET MY BROTHER GO!" Mario demanded, but he was kicked in reply, and moaned, knowing that he was now powerless.

"Lock those up in cells." Growle said, and his servants then threw them each in one cell, a cell that was facing Luigi on the wall. "But this one... he needs to be broken. Who shall I have do the honors, hm? Who shall I have teach him this lesson?" Growle tapped his chin.

Malidor grinned. "May I, sir?"

"Hm... I was thinking..." Growle said, "yes. Yes that would be good."

Malidor smirked, and said, "what with, sir?"

"Anything. But please, don't kill him. Not yet."

Malidor tapped his steel staff in his hand as he turned to face Luigi, ignoring the screams from Mario and the shouts of protest from Peach.

"No, no you don't! Don't you DARE lay a hand on my brother! No, get away from him now!" Mario screamed, gripping the steel bars from his cell and banging against them, trying to get free.

"Leave Luigi alone!" Peach cried. "No, don't hurt him! Please don't hurt him!"

Serphen could not shout. Instead he stared at Luigi, tears streaming down his face. He then opened his mouth and said, loud enough for Luigi to hear, "I'm sorry I let you down... I let you down... I was supposed to protect you..."

Reyva was curled in the corner of the cell, shaking with misery. Yet she, and the rest in the cell, knew that there was still hope left. Symphony escaped. And Growle hadn't noticed. 

Mario's voice came to a stop as the first crack resounded through the room, followed by a yelp of pain from his little brother, and a growl of sheer anger and agony from Aeolian.

Mario cringed, but could not wrench his eyes away. He saw that Malidor's staff had struck Luigi's shoulder. Both Serphen and Peach looked away, but he could not. Mario felt tears trailing down his cheek as he continued to watch, his heart beating fast, his body shivering with pain which he felt every time he saw Malidor strike his brother. He felt the pain Luigi felt, every time he heard him scream.

All the while, Growle laughed along with Aeolian's roars of anger.

Growle laughed at his victory. He laughed at Luigi's pain. And most of all, he laughed because he believed he had won.

Aeolian wanted to fight. He struggled in his chains, staring at Growle with an intense and fiery rage. He heard not what Mario said about mercy. He didn't care. _Growle deserves no mercy_, he thought, _Growle deserves to be slain._

And when Growle lifted a hand to signal Malice to stop beating Luigi, everyone looked at the damage.

Hanging awkwardly from the chains, his eyes were barely cracked open. He struggled to breathe through broken ribs. Pain surged through every atom of his body like the lightning he harnessed. Blood trickled from the corners of his mouth. And yet still, despite how much Malidor had broken, he had failed to touch Luigi's heart, and the same fire of hope was still flaming. But his eyes and stature did not show it, and Growle suspected nothing.

"That will teach you to mess with the Moonshards." Malice smirked as he stared into the eyes of his victim.

Luigi looked up at him weakly, and said nothing. He merely moaned.

Malice turned away. "So, lord Growle? What shall we do with him now?"

"Put him in the cell- adjacent to the others, so they cannot touch him. Tomorrow we will come and give them their new duties as my slaves."

Malice unchained Luigi as instructed. He cried out in pain from the sudden movements. Malice then dragged him into the cell next to Mario's. Through the bars, Mario could see his brother thrown in the corner and crumpled to the ground.

"Luigi!" He cried through his tears, his body shaking with sobs. "Luigi, speak to me! Can you breathe!? _Are you alive_!?"

Peach reached her hand through the bar and said, "Luigi... please... answer us... are you alive?"

Luigi looked up and reached out an arm weakly, his left arm, the one that wasn't broken, but bruiesed. He tried to reach Peach's hand, but he was a few inches away. Drained of energy, his hand fell to the ground. They knew that Luigi could move no more. They didn't know how much had been broken on him- but Mario had counted the times he heard the crack of the steel weapon. Five. Five times Luigi had been hit with it. Though it passed in only two minutes, it was the longest time Mario had ever sat through. It was the longest, most agonizing two minutes he had ever seen.

As soon as the sound of the door shutting and locking behind them, and as soon as they knew they were alone, Reyva managed to say in a voice close to a whisper,

"We only have Symphony now." 


	21. Jennie

A/N: Last night I had insomnia, and it was very late when I wrote the second update (yes I did end up updating twice yesterday!) And I got "malice" and "malidor" mixed up (curses for naming my characters too similarly! X( ). **Malidor** was the one who did all the torture, and I forgot to explain what happened to **Malice** after he was set on fire. He left, to go jump in water, but I just forgot to say that.

Anyway, tensions are high, and this chapter will be mostly emotional, angstish, and full of all that crap.

Luigi: You got that right.

Me: You're still alive?  
Luigi: You can't kill me, I'm a video game!

Me: ...true...

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: JENNIE

It was an agonizing five hours.

For five hours, it seemed, Mario had given up trying to get to his brother through the bars and sat down in defeat. He couldn't sleep. He wanted to sleep, but he knew that he couldn't. He couldn't sleep when he knew his brother was in such pain and misery, and he could not even reach him.

After those five hours, something happened.

"Hello, guys."

It was the voice of bubbly green Zin, who had entered, dangling a ring of keys. Mario glanced up at her, his eyes boiling with anger. He could not contain his rage and he lunged for the bars and demanded, "heal my brother!" The anger then left his eyes when he realized how he was coming across, and he forced himself to add politely, "please?"

Zin, at first, grinned, but when she saw the looks in everyone's eyes, she was almost overcome with compassion. She knew that it was a weakness in her- Growle said that she showed compassion to the slaves too much and she would be abandoned if she continued. But, something in Mario was different then the other slaves. He didn't seem to want to kill her for what she and her clan did. He just wanted her to set things right.

"I'm... sorry, Mario." She added sincerely, "I have no authority to heal your brother. I... I actually, like, hate myself for saying this, but... I would if I could."

She glanced at Luigi, who hadn't moved from the spot he was put in. Yet he was shivering with cold, and pain, and fear.

"I'm here," she said, "to introduce you all to a new way of life, in the Citadel. You'll meet the cap'n of the slaves, Jennie, and she will explain your duties as a slave. You will wear shackles which will drain your bodies of any sort of energy, such as the energy Dragons use to Mindchat and Shadowblend, and the energies you Mario Brothers use to control the elements."

Zin whistled loudly, and a few minutes later, the slave girl Jennie appeared from the shadows. She had long, brown hair which came down her back, and starry, emerald eyes. There were a few imperfections on her face and scars on her arms, but Mario knew very well that it was the beauty of the heart that defined a person, not their physical beauty.

"Hello." She spoke, glancing over at Luigi and grimacing, "I'll... I'll be your leader in the slave department..." she found it hard to speak, for there was a hint of anger and deep compassion in her voice as she stared at Luigi, unable to look away. She muttered something under her breath, then took the key from Zin and unlocked Mario's cell just long enough to enter and close it again. Mario saw that she was holding a small case. She opened it and revealed bracers.

"I want each of you to clasp one of these bracers around your wrists please." She said in a voice which hinted that she clearly did not want to do this to other humans, let alone Starbringer Dragons.

Reluctantly each of them took a bracer, clasped it on, and could feel drained beyond how they ever did. Mario felt as though a piece of him was wrenched away from him as his powers were drained within the bracer.

Jennie then moved to Luigi's cell, then muttered something again and shook her head. Mario was following close behind her, and when she opened the door, he jumped inside, the others were not nimble enough.

"_Luigi_!"

Jennie did not stop him, but Zin seemed a little frustrated. "Hey," she said, "Growle told me not to let you touch him!"

"Well, Growle told ME to make him a slave as well, today, right now!" Jennie retaliated, frustrated. "Now you tell me, how can this man work in this condition!? Unless Growle meant for one of us to heal him so he could work."  
"Hm," Zin said, "that is a problem... then again I think Growle wanted to drive him so that he wouldn't have an ounce of energy to retaliate."

Mario had situated Luigi comfortably on the ground and began to examine his injuries. Luigi's face, contorted with pain, began to relax as he knew that he was in his brothers arms. Jennie and Zin didn't stop them.

"Luigi... are you alright?" Mario breathed quietly, shivering.

"I... I think so..." his voice was cracked with pain. "Mario..." he said, "...is this it?"

Mario swallowed and nodded. "We lost." He looked up and announced to all who were listening, "he's broken a lot in his body. A few ribs, his right arm and shoulder, right leg, and left foot are broken."

"Oh, this is terrible..." Serphen moaned, "Luigi, if I could, I would take your pain... its my fault you're in this."

"Don't bash yourself, Serphen, you couldn't do anything. None of us could." Reyva said, rubbing her cousin's arm. "The best we can do now I guess is try to nurse Luigi back to health... if Growle would allow it..."

Jennie slowly knelt at Luigi's side and took his good arm timidly. She took a bracer and clasp it about his arm, then whispered to him so that Zin couldn't hear, "take this when no one is looking," and she secretly slipped a small thing in his hand and stood up.

"I think it is safe to say that Growle would allow Mario and his friends to help Luigi around the Citadel, if he truly wants to work him. Should I go get confirmation from him?"

"Yeah, you go ask Growle." Said Zin, and watched as Jennie left.

"If she's a slave, why does she harness us?" Peach asked. "She has a bracer too, so would she know how to take it off?"

"All bracers are controlled by one key, and that is Growle's key. He keeps all his keys with him at all times." Zin said, crossing her arms and tapping her fingers on her bicep. "Once the bracers are clasped, no one but Growle is opening them. And since Jennie is his favorite, and she has done this many times, he trusts her to carry out her job well. She, like the rest of us, fear Growle and his power. He can easily end the life of anyone who disobeys him..."

"Then why do you follow him, Zin?" Peach continued.

"Because... I fear him." Zin replied slowly. "Every Dragon out there thinks at least once about joining Growle so they won't be a target for his wrath."

"But you are, Zin. You are _still_ a target of his wrath because his power is so great. Just because you _join_ him doesn't _protect_ you from him. Eventually this world will die if he gets Aeolian's powers. Including you." Mario explained boldly.

The green Dragon looked down. She knew very well what the couple had said but never chose to believe it. Then she looked down at the brothers, the look of agony on Luigi's face, the terrible sadness in Mario's eyes, and yet, they still held together firm. Something stayed in them. Zin did not know what.

"Well..." she began, "you... opened my eyes, Mario. But... I don't think I can... leave. No... I can't..."

"Zin, you can. But we can't make you do anything."

From the chains nearby, Aeolian was watching. Everyone knew they were so close to him and yet so far away, and he was a bit dillusional from what Growle was doing to him earlier. And he looked at Zin with the same fury any enemy would give her.

"Mercy." Aeolian spat. "No. Your kind almost _killed_ Luigi. My _friend_. You deserve nothing but capital punishment!"

"Aeolian!" Mario yelled, whipping his head around to look at the dragon. "Have you learned nothing from what Luigi told you all the long time ago about good and evil!? Would you want to be like them!?"

Aeolian shot Mario a glare and said in a low tone, "I don't care. I want to kill Growle. I want to kill him so badly it aches..."

Mario could not believe this. The young, naïve Aeolian was no longer the same. Being in the dungeon must have messed with his mind more then Growle had himself.

Soon, Jennie had returned in the room, looking both frustrated and relieved, and she announced, "it took some convincing but Growle said that I can let the others with Luigi now. The first thing he wants them to do is clean the kitchen, and I am to give them any food left over that his army hasn't eaten. He apparently doesn't want them dead like most of his other slaves, why I don't know."

"He said he wants to save us so Aeolian can eat us when he's brainwashed..." Reyva moaned.

"Oh," Jennie grimaced, then looked over at the enraged Aeolian. "Well, all I can say is, you might not have to wait so long."

Jennie opened the door to Luigi's cell once more, and the others quickly stormed inside, wanting to be with him, to let him know that his friends were there. He hadn't said a word since he spoke to Mario. He was in too much miserable pain.

"Can you get up at all? Who would you want to carry you?" Peach asked timidly to Luigi, carefully laying a hand lovingly on his own. She then noticed that his fingers were clasped tightly around something, but she did not ask him what it was.

"Serphen... is pretty strong..." he said weakly.

Serphen walked forward and carefully began to lift Luigi. He then held him gently in his arms, trying desperately not to move him too much.

"Alright, then. I guess we should begin our assigned tasks." Jennie continued and motioned for the door. "Let us leave, lead the way Zin. It may take us a while to catch up, considering Serphen's speed." She was secretly trying to get rid of Zin. Serphen of course wanted to move slowly to avoid moving Luigi too much, and Zin took the bait and left.

As soon as Zin was gone, Jennie whipped around and said, "okay. Okay. I need you all to tell me everything that happened. Is there any hope left in you? There's something here, I can tell, but what is it?'

"Symphony." Mario said with a slight grin, "do you know her?"

"Yes. Growle mentioned her I think. Said that she kept breaking in about three weeks ago. She's a Shadowblender, right?"

"She originally came with us to lead us here. During the fight she slipped away. Growle doesn't know she's gone."

Jennie smiled and said, "that's good, but does she know what to do?"

"She came here for her fiance Opus." Peach recalled, "or the Black Wind, you might know him by."

"Ah, the brainwashed one..." Jennie said sadly, "he used to be a very nice dragon, though he was very shy. He was so easily broken, because of his fear. But if your friend Symphony left to find him... perhaps she figured out how to heal brainwashing?"

"There's a way to heal it?"

"Yes. Actually, there is. You see, Growle's technique involves something called Erosion. Its when he convinces the mind to forget the things that make someone who they are by whittling away at their conscious. You can restore these chips of their mind if you know the person well, and can restore their personality and character to their mind. Perhaps Symphony knows Opus well enough to do that..."

"Yes!" Reyva jumped for joy. "I bet that's what she's doing now!"

"But there's a catch..." Jennie said, "if the brainwashed one has his mind completely gone... he could be lost forever."

"So if Aeolian is brainwashed... we could restore him?"

"Yes, you could... but I would hope that he wouldn't be."

Suddenly, the door opened again. "What's taking you so long?" Zin's annoyed voice called. "Growle wants you all in the kitchens pronto!"


	22. A Day as a Slave

A/N: Check out my profile, Torta della pizza... I think you might like what you find in there. (I hope you like it anyway lol!) And to those of you who see it and have a good Luigi fanfiction let me know and I might like it enough to do the same there too. I'm working on about 3 others though, they'll be revealed when they're close to done.  
This is a fairly boring chapter, but its just a good filler-in for the NEXT chapter, which will be action packed and (hopefully) surprising.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: A DAY AS A SLAVE 

Mario had never seen so many dirty dishes in one place before. The floors were a mess of spilled food, and his boots clung to the floors as he walked. There was a giant freezer which was open, revealing large heaps of meat and a few odd looking sacks, which Mario was almost afraid to ask what was inside- the sacks were big enough for a human like himself to fit in. The tables were a mess, cupboards were open, some broken glass here and there. And to make matters worse, everything in the room was dragon-sized, not human sized, making things much bigger then Mario was used to.

"Oh, who left the freezer open!?" Zin demanded as she entered.

"I'm sorry... but are those... or what's inside them...?" Peach pointed to the freezer, her finger trembling, "...bags... Growle's... previous slaves?" 

"Possibly." Zin said in a voice which meant 'yes.' "Luckily I don't think you have to deal with it though." Zin said, "well, help yourself to whatever food is left in here. Growle's army really does make a mess of things, their manners make me sick! But, hey, its you that'll be cleaning it, not me." She added with a giggle. "Well, I'll be supervising while you all clean this place. And make it spotless!"

Jennie strode to a drawer, opened it, and removed a few rags. "There's a bucket over there," she guestured to Reyva, "go get it and fill it with water from the sink." 

"But there's too many dishes in the sink, I can't fit the bucket in there." Reyva complained.

"Then move the dishes, its not that hard." Jennie replied, frustrated. "Here, do you need me to do it?"

She tossed the rags to Peach, who caught as many as she could, but a few fell short and hit the dirty floor. She knelt to pick them up.

Jennie removed a few large dishes from the sink, which were stained with food crumbs, and then took the bucket from Reyva's hands and began to fill it with steaming water. As she filled the bucket, she couldn't help but to glance at Luigi, still resting in Serphen's arms, more dead then alive. She saw his hand, however, which was still tightly clenched around the flicker of hope she had given him earlier. Had he used it yet?

She turned around to see that Zin was walking idly around the room, humming a tune. Jennie's eyes went from her to Luigi, then to her again.

"Hey, Jennie?" Mario pointed.

"Huh?"

"Jennie, look- the bucket."

The bucket was overflowing into the sink. Jennie quickly turned off the water, dumped out a little from the bucket, then with a grunt, pulled the heavy tin can out and onto the floor. She then filled it with chemicals that she retrieved from a cabinent.

"Okay, some of you need to work on the counters, some need to work on the floor. Alright?"

Reluctantly, Mario took his rag, dipped it inside, and walked to the table. Slowly, one by one, the group distributed tasks among themselves, leaving Serphen and Luigi. 

"I've only got two hands," Serphen said. 

"Well, I dont' know what to tell you Serphen..." Jennie replied, "its cruel what that beast Growle is doing to you especially when Luigi is like this, but, if you disobey him... you might never get out of here." 

Zin walked over, hearing the commotion, then said, "here. Let me take the wounded one. Yellow there can get to work." 

"_Yellow_ has a name!" Reyva barked, shooting a glare at Zin. "His name is _Serphen_ and he is my cousin!" 

"Yo, watch it!" Zin's voice cracked. "Hey, I just want to give you a hand here! _Serphen_, give me the human and it'll be easier for you to work."

Serphen looked down at Luigi, then at Zin, and he lifted a lip and growled.

"Don't give me that!" Zin jabbed a finger at Serphen. "Unless you want to end up like them!" She pointed to the freezer. "Now, give me the human."

"Just do it Serphen..." Mario said quietly. "I don't think she's going to hurt him... and besides, we can't risk losing you."

"Give _your brother_ to _her_!?" Serphen seemed flabbergasted. "No! No! I'm Luigi's bodyguard, I let this happen to him and I need to carry his burden!"

"Then carry his burden and give him to me so you can do his work!" Zin said. "Look, there's five of you here, one of you can't work, so Serphen, you'll have to make up for both you and Luigi. But you can't work with him so give him to me and I'll put him over on the floor somewhere clean."

Serphen looked down at Luigi, whos eyes were barely cracked open. He was conscious, hearing the whole fight over him, but was powerless to say anything. Serphen then whispered to him, "do you trust Zin?"

Luigi's eyes closed and he slowly nodded.

Serphen reluctantly walked forward, and slowly held his companion out. Zin took him carefully, cradled him in her arms, then walked over to a corner in the room, where nothing was spilled, and laid him carefully there.

It was then when she noticed he was holding something.

"What's in your hand?" Zin asked curiously.

Jennie's breath left her. Her eyes grew wide, and she dropped her rag.

"Open your hand, slave." Zin demanded to Luigi.

Luigi opened his eyes fully, and looked over at Zin with a certain fear. He swallowed hard, then saw Zin's hands lunge for his own. She pried his weak fingers open easily, and she gasped.

"Now what's this!?"

She took it out of his hands. "Who gave him this?!"

She held up a small shot tube, filled with a stange glowing liquid. Zin's eyes were in a fury. "Step forward so we won't have to institute interrogation!"

Jennie took a slow step forward.

"Jennie?!"

"I... I wanted his pain to stop... I... I just wanted him to be healed..."

"You stole the sacred Moon Flower juice... and gave it to HIM!? This healing fluid is for the army and ONLY the army!"

"Zin, please... look at him!" Jennie cried. "Your kind tortured him, and he has done nothing wrong! He came here to rescue Aeolian, to stop your evil leader Growle from killing all that's good in the world! He was _tortured_ because of this! And now Growle thinks he can make him _work_ just a few hours after he was _mercilessly beaten_ with a _steel pipe_!?" She threw her arms in the air and said, "so what do you expect me, a caring person unlike Growle, or you for that matter, to do!?"

Zin stared at Jennie with a certain boiling rage in her crimson eyes. Then, without a word, she turned around and began to walk for the door- to alert Growle of this act of treason with his own favorite slave. But, she stopped.

She turned her head to look at Luigi, who at this point, seemed as though he had lost all hope. She stared at him, his limp frame on the hard ground, and then she turned and walked to him. She took the shot injection, jabbed it into his arm, and then pushed the liquid into his body.

"This is our little secret okay?" Zin said in a most angry tone. "You speak one word to Growle about this and I'll cut out your tongue!"

Mario and the others sighed with relief. Not only had Zin given in to the good in her that was definitely there, but she also seemed to have agreed not to tell Growle about what she, and Jennie, had done to save Luigi.

Luigi himself was already beginning to feel the effects of the shot. It didn't quite heal his broken bones, but it restored vigour to his body, and was slowly beginning to whittle away his bruises and return his flesh to normal. The color seemed to be retuning to his face.

"Luigi, are you... well?" Peach asked, walking over to him as Zin stood there with her arms crossed and a pouty expression.

"I'm... fine. Well, better..." Luigi breathed, his voice seemed much clearer now. "What is that stuff?"

"Medicine from the Moon Flower..." said Jennie, "Its a rare plant that can slowly heal injuries. It'll take a while for it to fix those that you have but at least... you might have enough energy now to move."

"Thank you, Jennie... and Zin," Luigi couldn't help to turn and smile at the Dragon who was obviously telling herself that she didn't do anything 'good', she turned her head away and huffed at Luigi. But on the inside, she knew she wasn't like the others. She wasn't like Malidor, who mercilessly beat Luigi. She wasn't like Ironclaw, who purposely grew his claws to extraordinary lengths just to make scythes out of them, and she most of all wasn't like Growle, who above all else, desired to rule the world at the expense of all good life.

"Well... I'll leave you all to your cleaning." Zin said, "but I'll still watch... no way am I leaving you. You can't be trusted." 

A few minutes passed since then, everyone but Luigi was cleaning the dirty kitchen. After a while, they began to realize how hungry they were. Mario located a loaf of sourdough bread, with a hard crust, and he took it and saw that it was perfect- not stale and very crisp- and he couldn't resist taking a bite out of it.

"Mario!" Reyva cried.

"What, they said we could eat whatever we found..." He said with his mouth full. "There's more in there I think- in that bread box." 

Suddenly, the bread box was raided by all of Mario's friends, and everyone thereafter had a loaf in their hands and were munching away furiously- they hadn't realized how hungry they were until now. Zin watched them and did not say anything.

Then, Mario looked down at his brother on the floor, who had his hand over his stomach and was staring at the food longingly. Mario was overrun with compassion, and he went to his brother and knelt at his side.

"Here." He handed Luigi his own unfinished loaf.

"But..." Luigi said, both amazed and a little hesitant of taking his brother's meal, "You... love bread. I mean, you love food... and..." 

"Take it, Luigi," he said lovingly, "you're probably hungrier then I am. Plus, you were tortured... you deserve it. Besides," he added jokingly, "I need to lose some weight."


	23. Music to Their Ears

A/N: Music is an inspiration to me. I'm listening to the Halo 3 soundtrack. I love how they incorporate themes from the previous games, except in upgraded quality. Aaah, good music makes me want to write!

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: MUSIC TO THEIR EARS

Throughout the day, Luigi could feel more of his strength returning to him- slowly, but surely, he could feel his bones being repaired by what he could only describe as magic. Yet even as he healed, Zin made him work. His friends, however, were always by his side.

The kitchen was still not cleaned in the three hours the group had been there, but they were coming close to completing the task, now that they had an extra hand.

"So how are you feeling now?" It was the seventeenth time he had been asked that, and it was beginning to get old. Yet, he continued to answer truthfully, "my leg still hurts... but my arms and foot are doing better. My chest seems to have healed." 

Luigi had been given the task of scrubbing the table, it wasn't as tough as the floor was, and his friends wanted to go as easy as they could on him. All the while, Zin did nothing but watch them. She was beginning to make decisions in her mind, though she knew it would cost her a lot. Then again, would it? 

"My friend Malidor..." Zin began speaking as she paced, wanting to start a conversation in the silent bunch, "...was hired for the purpose of torturing victims. He's had it hard in his life, and for some reason, he wants others to experience his pain. This is the reason why he joined Growle. Needless to say, he's good at what he does." 

There was silence.

"I joined because he did. You see Malidor is more then a friend to me... I kind of have a huge crush on him. I've seen him torture people before. To me, its not a pretty picture, but what I've seen him do with Luigi was the worst of them all... do you know why?"

Still silence.

"Luigi is the only one never to verbally retaliate. With everyone else, they did something against Malidor. There was hatred in their eyes. Rage. Through all their pain they swore to kill Malidor for what he did, and the rest of us Moonshards. Luigi is the first not to say a word. After the torture I saw in Malidor something. He seemed... less satisfied. As if this wasn't what he was expecting. You see this is why I'm talking about this... I'm thinking of leaving the Moonshards, but, Malidor has to come with me. Then again..." she fingered a moon necklace around her neck, "I can't get rid of this. Even if I leave Growle's authority I'm still a Moonshard. I can't take this necklace off. Its a symbol of our commitment to the Moonshards, and its magical. I can't take it off." 

"There has to be a way," Reyva said, "to take off that necklace."

"Maybe it has to do with Aeolian." Said Serphen, "Somehow Aeolian is supposed to unite the clans back into the peaceful whole again. Perhaps it has to do with breaking that spell that's in those necklaces. He's going to destroy the Moonshards that way, right?"

" I'm not sure, and I don't think we'll ever know... Growle is brainwashing Aeolian as we speak..."

"Well why don't we go down there and stop him!?" Luigi blurted. "If Growle succeeds, everything in this world will be lost! And perhaps everything in my world too!"

Zin looked down and frowned. "I-"

Suddenly, there was a scream from outside, then a thud. Everyone dropped what they were doing and stared wide-eyed at the door. Zin whirled around. "What was that!?"

She bolted for the large door and opened it, only to find that two Dragon guards were lying on the ground, moaning with pain. Everyone rushed to see what all the commotion was about.

"Who did this?" Zin demanded.

"We dont'... know..." a guard groaned, "it just... happened..." 

"Well, why don't you- OOF!" Zin suddenly doubled over and collapsed, obviously impacted by something, but whatever it was, it was invisible.

Suddenly the shadows merged, and a silver-and-teal Dragon was formed from the darkness and stood in Zin's place. 

"Symphony!" Mario dashed forth. "Symphony why did you hurt Zin?"

"Well she's on their side isn't she?" Symphony said. "Come on, hurry! We have a dragon to save! Now that our ranks are bolstered, I'm sure we'll be able to take on Growle.

"What do you mean by bolstered?" Peach inquired. Symphony grinned and snapped her fingers.

Out of the hallway stomped Ironclaw. The dragon seemed a tad disoriented, as if something was in his brain that did not belong there- and it suddenly dawned on the group what had happened. Had Symphony restored Opus's memory? And had Opus taken control of Ironclaw's mind?

"Everyone, meet Opus. Opus, meet everyone." Symphony introduced. "My beloved has gone into the mind of Ironclaw. Say hi, Opus!"

Ironclaw's voice spoke, "I'm sorry I hurt you Mario Brothers earlier. Thanks to my love my mind is now free! I feel like a new dragon!"

"Hon, you _are_ a new dragon." Symphony chuckled. "Well, come on! We have to hurry before those other goons catch up!"

As Symphony spoke, Zin slowly rose to her feet, trying to catch her breath- the wind was knocked out of her. "Hey... I... I'm coming too." She said, then turned to Symphony and explained, "I want to stop following Growle."

"I don't trust you..." Symphony said in a singsong voice. 

"No, really!" Zin staggered backwards. "I want to help!"

"Give her a chance, Symphony..." Mario said slowly, "if we see even the slightest sign of betrayal we'll attack, but its better having her on our side. 

"Fine but if she's lying its your fault not mine!" Symphony said, then told Opus/Ironclaw, "Come on, hon! Let's finish this fight!"

As they prepared to search for the dungeon door again, there was a roar from down the hall. Malice and Malidor were charging for them, outraged. "Zin! We heard that! For this treason you will die!" It was Malice's voice. "You and all those slaves will die!"

"Malidor! Sweetie!" Zin pleaded, "Please, listen to me!"

"No way, Zin." Malidor said in his groggy voice, "I'm sorry but I guess this is it for the two of us. I never expected this in you. I thought you were loyal."

"Malidor!" Zin choked.

"Come on, let's show these goons we mean buisness!" Symphony said, spinning around and facing the two dragons with her fists raised. Mario and the others still had their bracers, but they believed they could still put up a fight- unarmed. Jennie had no choice but to watch, claiming that she had no combat experience whatsoever. 

"Ironclaw, what's gotten into you? Has my old girlfriend persuaded you too?" Malidor groaned.

"I'm not Ironclaw." Said the orange dragon with a smirk. "Guess what? I am Opus. The Black Wind. And I'm sorry, gentlemen, but I can't let you threaten my beloved Symphony. Either retreat and we will not harm you, or attack us and we will give you justice."

Malice and Malidor exchanged horrified glances. Then they turned back around, and their horror turned to rage.

"Get out of Ironclaw!" Malice demanded, "we don't want to put a dent in our own man!"

But Opus did not listen. "Shall we strike?"

"Yes, my friend!"

The future couple charged at the two other dragons with menacing roars. Then, Mario, Luigi, Serphen, Reyva, and Peach followed, weaponless, but ready to do what they could.

Opus struck first with Ironclaw's scythelike claws, slashing Malice across the chest. Malice roared, shooting a blast of flames at Opus with ferocity. Opus backed away, letting Symphony, who was hiding in the shadows, to emerge in front of Malice and knock him down.

Mario and the others jumped in on top of the fallen Malice and pinned him to the ground by his arms. The least they could do was keep him from regaining his footing, and they could let the two able warriors to be intimidating enough to Malidor to cause him to retreat.

"Get offa me!" Malice roared, and Mario and Luigi loosened their hold. He broke free and escaped, in the direction of the dungeons, do regroup.

"We did it!" Symphony clapped.

Opus then spoke, "Ironclaw is getting a little resistant. I may have to pull him into a locked closet and leave him there."

"Sure thing. We'll wait for you." 

Opus controlled Ironclaw to walk away, and the others stood in the hallway, thinking about their success. All the while, Zin seemed very downcast. "I can't believe it," she moaned, "he left me..."

"Oh, Zin..." Peach said, "some people just won't turn to our side... even if you love them very much, sometimes, you must give them justice..."

"I know... he was a jerk anyway." Zin gave Peach a half-hearted grin, but they all could tell, she still cared for Malidor.

Soon, Opus appeared, as the black, shadowy dragon of his true form. He turned to face Symphony and winked, then turned to the others and said, "let's go free Aeolian!"


	24. Starfall

A/N: Surprisingly I havne't gotten very many reviews lately from one of my more avid readers. Oh well. Thanks for anyone new who's decided to sit through this amazingly long story and don't worry, it'll be over soon around chapter 30 and then I'll be writing a new Mario story. :D 

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: STARFALL

"So, Symphony... can you explain how you restored Opus's memory?" Mario questioned as he followed her down the stone chasms.

"Well," Symphony began, "I don't really know what happened. When I saw him, I wanted to hug him, but instead, he attacked me. We were locked in battle, and then, I wasn't sure what to do. Suddenly, when he looked into my eyes, he stopped fighting me and asked me my name- see, he _spoke_- which is rare in the brainwashed. And I told him I was Symphony, his beloved... and then, he seemed completely different."

"Hm," Peach said, "so, you restored a piece of him- that piece of him was your name, the knowledge of his love?"

"Yes..."

Hurrying through the chasm, the group of eight approached the dungeon doors yet again, knowing Aeolian's, nay, the world's life was relying on the speed of their feet and the determination of their hearts.

Finding the giant door unlocked, the group hastily made their way down a flight of crooked stairs and once again into the dungeons, where Luigi shuddered with a painful memory. He saw the very chains he was beat upon, and across from them, the chains where Aeolian _should have_ been hanging from- were empty. 

"Looking for Aeolian?"

Growle stepped from behind a support beam, grinning. "I'm sorry but Aeolian isn't here."

Luigi faced Growle with a certain rage. "What did you do to him!?" 

"Come here, Firefeind." Growle whistled. "Come and obey your master.

Stepping out of the shadows, wearing a coat of horrifyingly familiar green scales, was a dragon who should've been Aeolian. Yet, Growle adressed him as a new name, a new creature- Firefeind.

The dragon did not speak, there was a certain emptiness in his pale eyes. He made eye contact with Luigi, and Luigi shuddered. He could not see the same Aeolian in him- nothing was left of the old Aeolian. No hope, no emotion. It was all replaced with a maddening lust for evil.

"No!" Mario cried, lunging forward without warning. "Give us back our Dragon!"

Growle merely pointed and said, "Attack." 

Malice and Malidor appeared, followed by Aeolian, and Growle struck along with them. The group was strongly unprepared.

"Hey, Opus! Why don't you get into Growle?" 

"I can only do so when the target has dropped their guard..." Opus cried as he jumped backwards, avoiding an attack from Malice, "and Growle is one of the toughest to get past!" 

As he spoke, what should have been Aeolian lunged for Luigi, threatening to kill him. Luigi shouted in agony, scrambling backwards. "Aeolian, please, don't do this!"

With his slave bracer, Luigi had no power, and he still hadn't completely recovered from his torture. He held up his hands in self defence as Aeolian approached and began to inhale. Aeolian was going to incinerate Luigi! 

Suddenly, Serphen jumped in, clawing Aeolian across the cheek forcefully. He then barked, "Go, Luigi! This is a fight for dragons, not drained slaves! I'll protect you this time!" His eyes were full of sorrow and pain, "I promise I won't let anything happen to you!"

"Serphen..." Luigi breathed, not knowing how to react. Serphen was getting involved with some powerful dragons, even among all his friends, Luigi was unsure what would happen in the battle.

All he could do was watch as the dragons clashed- Reyva wasn't a powerful warrior, but she did what she could to protect Peach and Jennie, who did not want to get at all involved. Mario stayed with Luigi, wanting to help, but finding himself powerless. 

Symphony and Opus fought side-by-side in perfect rhythm. They both teamed up on Growle, but with his icy claws, they together weren't enough to take him down.

Zin, to Luigi's surprise, faced off against Malidor. They would talk to each other occasionally, asking questions such as "why did you leave?" and "why won't you follow me?" it was as if Malidor wanted to hate her, but couldn't, and it was as if she wanted to leave him, but could not bring herself to do so.

But above all, Luigi couldn't stop watching the clash between Aeolian and Serphen- and Luigi was sure who was the stronger one. Though Serpehn was determined to keep Luigi safe, he could not fend off against the brainwashed Aeolian, who was without doubt stronger then the yellow dragon.

"That's it, Firefeind. Destroy that yellow Dragon!" Growle said as he grunted, fending off an attack from Symphony.

Luigi gasped, and wanted to help, but he knew he would be killed too if he got into the fray. He watched with horror as his protector Serphen was knocked to the ground, and Aeolian pressed a claw to the yellow dragon's neck.

"NO!" Luigi screamed, and coultn't contain himself any longer. He dashed forth, despite the horror shivering through his body, and he smashed into Aeolian, attempting to knock him down. But Aeolian stood firm, and it felt like Luigi had just ran into a brick wall.

He was knocked down, pain surging through his body as he struck the ground. Yet he got back up and tried to push Aeolian again, but he was a second too late.

Luigi stopped moving and stood stone still, his eyes met Serphen's. There was a horrible look of pain and terror in the shocked dragon's eyes, then, as Aeolian continued to push his claw through the dragon's neck, the look of pain began to disappear, and was replaced with an empty void of thought.

"SERPHEN! NO!" Luigi screamed, and attracted the attention of the others.

"What?!" Reyva whipped around, an agonizing terror in her eyes. Had her cousin just been killed?

"AEOLIAN! WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO YOU!?" Luigi screamed, pusing at Aeolian again with all his might. "GET OFF OF HIM!"

Growle chuckled. "Finally, one of you has been ridden!"

Luigi felt tears streaming down his face. If he only had his power... could he have saved Serphen?"

"Now, let's pick them off one by one!" Growle cackled, "We-"

His voice was cut off by a sudden shaking rumble. Evyerone stopped fighting to listen, and soon, the rumble began to shake their feet, and then, there was an ear-splitting crash. The ceiling in an area collapsed, and a white-hot ball of energy surged into the room, bounced off the floor, and collided with Growle, knocking him backwards.

Growle screamed, the white, glowing energy surrounding his body. Then, as the glowing energy began to leave, a hard object fell to the floor, drained of its power. Growle fell with it and collapsed on the floor, wheezing. Aeolian, Malice, and Malidor turned to their master, the two Dragons who weren't brainwashed seemed surprised and flabbergasted, and suddenly, Reyva fell to the floor and began weeping.

"It was... a star!" She moaned. "_Serphen's_ star!" And she continued to sob.

"No..." Peach felt her eyes welling up with tears. "Oh, no... Serphen!" 

The yellow Dragon was dead- and his star had fallen from the sky.

"Aeolian! You _murderer_!" Luigi cried through his tears. "Aeolian... the dragon I knew... isn't like this! Please, Aeolian... don't do this!"

Growle was unsteadily pulled to his feet by Malidor. He was still alive, but a burning mark in his armor was visible. "There is no hope for you," he wheezed. "Come, Firefeind!" 

Aeolian, who was staring at Luigi blankly, turned like some sort of zombie and faced Growle.

"Let's end this battle!" Growle faced Luigi and then said, "the next person I want you to kill, Firefeind- is him!" He thrust a claw and pointed at Luigi. "Now go!"

Just as Growle spoke, the keyring of keys on his belt was wrenched free, and he then gasped and screamed, "Malidor! Malice! What are you doing!? _The Black Wind_ just stole my keys!"

Opus's form appeared from the darkness and he threw the keys to Mario, who swiftly caught it despite his fatigue from the emotion in the room, and then unlocked his bracer and tossed it to the next person. Soon, each slave was unlocked, including Jennie, who had cowered in a corner, timidly trying to avoid being involved in the battle.

"You think you can put up a fight unarmed?" Malice roared.

"We aren't unarmed..." Luigi rose to his feet, wiping away tears with his glove, "we are much more then that..." 

He looked up and then thrust his hands upwards, and lightning began collecting in his fingers. "Its time to end this war- for Serphen's sake, and for the sake of the world!"


	25. Chapter Twenty Five

A/N: This is where the war is nearly resolved- where someone triumphs over someone, someone finds out something, and things happen. That didn't tell you much did it? Just read.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Luigi felt shivering anger surging through his body- anger at Aeolian. The dragon was not a child anymore- he had lost his sense of dignity, of morale choices, of thought. Of all the things that could have happened, this was the worst case scenario. Through Luigi's tears, he faced Aeolian and screamed, "WHY!?"

It was the most he could've said in one word.

Why.

It was a simple word, yet crammed with emotion and desire. It was a question asked by everyone in their hearts- why, Aeolian?

Luigi knew there was one thing left to do now- he wasn't sure if it was the best decision he could make to do it. But he had to fight Aeolian. He could not let the dragon live any longer if he was going to be Growle's heir. The maddening rage that was pulsing through him was enough to make him decide that Aeolian deserved no mercy.

As Luigi and his friends prepared to fight again, Growle spoke into the chamber.

"Well, well, well. What should we do now, Firefiend? Your friends seem determined to kill you. What can we do that will make them leave? Such a trying question." 

Growle had a hand pressed to his chest, on the spot where Serphen's star hit him, in the deceased Dragon's last attempt to bring down the tyrant king. He failed.

"What would make them leave us to our reign of terror, hm? Ah, yes. Why don't you kill the defenseless? Why don't you destroy- the women?" 

"NO!" Mario screamed, dashing in front of Peach, defending her. Luigi timidly stood in front of Jennie, finding Reyva too worn with tears to help, and the two Shadowblenders were watching Malice and Malidor.

"Go, Firefiend!"

Aeolian leapt, like a robot, into action. He was controlled by every breath of Growle, forced to do whatever his master told him. And he lunged for Jennie, Growle's favorite slave no longer.

Luigi held firm, letting lightning charge into his hands until he could hold no more. Then, he thrust his hands forward, planting his feet into the ground to stand firm. Every ounce of his body was focused on keeping Aeolian away from her, the slave girl who had saved his life.

Thunder cracked in the room, and Aeolian was blasted back a few feet. The Dragon was phased.

Again, Luigi charged, but this time, Aeolian smacked him to the ground with a gigantic hand.

Jennie nearly jumped forth, trying to help him- for some reason, it hurt her to see him go down. "Luigi!" She screamed.

Luigi stood back up shakily, just in time- Aeolian was once again charged at the two women, intent on killing them both. Mario jumped into action, shooting fireballs with his bare hands at Aeolian. The flames smashed into his scales, melting some, causing Aeolian to cry out in pain.

Luigi then attacked when Mario was recollecting himself. Blasting Aeolian back with thunder and lightning, the great Dragon slid backwards into a wall. Aeolian soon gathered himself, and looked into Luigi's eyes. Luigi at first gave him a look of sadness and pleading, but Aeolian looked past him at Jennie.

"That's right, Firefiend. Destroy them!"

Aeolian began running. Luigi stood his ground, but Aeolian blew right past him and charged for the women, who did not have special powers like Mario or Luigi. Mario held his ground, trying to defend them, but Aeolian succeeded in his plan.

He attacked Jennie.

With his claws, he smacked her to the ground, with his teeth, he bit down hard on her leg. Only at that moment was Luigi able to interfere, alongside his brother, and divert Aeolian's attention from her. All the while, Luigi was _screaming_.

He did not know what he feared more- hurting the world's should-be hope for redemption, or letting a woman whom he probably loved to die. Did he love her? Did she love him? Was there any hope for their relationship? Mind-boggling thoughts swam through Luigi's mind as he attacked the dragon- his dragon- with a certain ferocity.

And Luigi's dragon retaliated.

He smacked Luigi to the hard floor, then jumped on top of him. Mario attempted to save his brother, but with a flick of the dragon's tail, Mario was knocked to the ground.

As Luigi was pinned to the floor in pain, he began to wonder about his life, and what he had been doing with it as of late- Aeolian was his dragon, and now, this Firefiend turned Aeolian into a completely different creature. Luigi's dragons tore at him, they mirrored each other's moves in incredible fashion- and Luigi wondered, if he could look past Firefiend and see Aeolian- could he be changed? 

The pain Firefiend was inflicting on Luigi was felt, but he did not dwell on it. The evil that raged in Firefeinds eye's did not phase him. He tried through this intense pain to see past Firefiend and into Aeolian- to see into the dragon that he should be.

"Aeolian..." he choked, "please... You're my dragon... you've hurt my friends... and you've hurt me..."

"Aeolian... you are my dragon... Firefiend is not... he's not you..." 

Aeolian began to slow down. Suddenly, the rage in Firefiend's eyes left Aeolian. Luigi almost smiled- was Aeolian defeating Firefiend? Was his dragon emerging victorious? 

"What is the matter with you, Firefiend? You've nearly killed the woman and the man- finish them both off now!"

Firefiend tried to turn to look at Growle, but Aeolian wanted to continue to look at Luigi. Firefiend struggled to turn, but Aeolian's will was stronger. He continued to look at his caretaker, and Luigi then knew that he could smile through his pain.

"L... Luigi..."

"Aeolian..." 

Aeolian turned to see the damage that Firefiend had done. Mario had climbed to Jennie's side- her face was twisted with pain. He looked at Serphen's lifeless body, and Reyva weeping at his side. He could see that the two Shadowblenders had pinned Malice and Malidor to the ground- and he could see Growle continuing to struggle. Aeolian felt tears form and begin to slide from his eyes.

"I'm... so sorry..." he sobbed, bowing his head with agony.

"You didn't do this..." Luigi coughed. "You aren't Firefiend..."

Aeolian then focused on Growle. "You!" He screamed. "You deserve no mercy!!!" 

"Aeolian, no!" Luigi retaliated, still lying on the ground in pain. "No. Growle deserves no mercy, true, but give him what he doesn't deserve! Growle has caused us much pain but Aeolian, believe in redemption!" Luigi's voiec grew quieter, and he added, "I believed in you!"

Aeolian's anger turned to sadness and then he said, "I... I was redeemed..."

"Yes..." Luigi cried.

Aeolian turned to Growle, shut his eyes, then said, "I challenge you, Growle... to a dual on the moon. I do not want to kill you. But I want your clan to lose their power. If I win... I will destroy your moon. But if you win... you can destroy our stars."

Growle looked up and grinned. "I may have been weakened by that blasted Serphen..." Reyva sobbed loudly as Growle spoke, "but I am more then a match for you! You are only four weeks old!" 

"But I have something you don't, Growle." 

"And what is that, pray tell?" Growle chuckled.

"I have been redeemed. And I have the world of good people on my shoulders."

"Very well. You and I will fight on the moon- and rest assured, I will be the one to win!"

Growle and Aeolian then flew out of the room, leaving the group to lick their wounds. Symphony and Opus let go of the two other hostile Dragons, expecting them to follow their master, but they stayed, in shock. Zin, who had not participated much, fell to her knees next to Malidor.

Luigi laid on the ground in silence, then said, "we should... go and watch..."

He struggled to sit up, and found that the potion that Jennie gave him was still flowing through his body, and still working to heal even his new injuries. He then crawled to his brother, Jennie, and Peach.

"Are you alright?" He asked Jennie.

"I... don't know..." She gasped. "Luigi... I... I..." she choked.

"Don't talk..." He told her. "I should've protected you... I... I didn't mean for this to happen."

"Don't blame yourself, Luigi." She reached up to feel his face. "I could've gotten away... I was just... so afraid..." 

Luigi smiled warmly. "I know Aeolian will win." He said. "And you can come back to the Mushroom Kingdom with us..." he took her hand in his. "Jennie... you've saved my life. You deserve a royal living in the Mushroom Kingdom... my brother owns a castle..."

"But I don't want that, Luigi."

"Then what do you want?"

"I want... a home... not royalty. I want a home, not a castle... I want... I want..." She gasped with pain, hesitating. Then she looked into his eyes painfully, then said, "When I met you... you were just another man. But you were another man I wanted to help- you were in such pain, pain beyond the physical... and the stories I heard about you from your friends when you were unconscious... made me wonder what sort of man you were... and this battle... this battle showed your heart, Luigi, and that's what I care about.

"I want you... Luigi... I want you. Is... is that okay?"

The words made Luigi break into a sob.

As tears streamed down his cheeks, as his body shook and trembled, he said, "Do you... do you love me...?" 

"Yes." She breathed quietly, "yes, Luigi, I love you..."

His grip tightened on her hand, then he smiled, and spoke through silence. Though she was gravely injured, he believed she should recover.

Mario then hugged his brother, and Peach hugged Mario. Even through the pain of what happened, there was hope- a lot of hope, now.

"We need to go watch Aeolian." Luigi looked up, wiping tears away with his finger. "But... I don't think I can... I need to find something..."

"What could be more important then watching Aeolian at this time?" Sympony said in an unemotional voice. 

"Jennie needs the Moon Flower juice... where is it, Jennie?"

"I'm sorry, Luigi... but I used the last one... on you..."

"But you can make it cant you?" Luigi added quickly. "You won't die will you?"

She shook her head. "No, Luigi, I'll be just fine..."

Luigi dipped his head as if he wasn't sure what to do. He needed to watch his dragon but he couldn't leave Jennie. Her leg was cracked, and she could not move.

"I will stay here with her." Mario said. "Revya doesn't seem to want to leave." 

He then noticed Zin and Malidor, who were speaking quietly amongst themselves. Malidor perked, when he noticed Mario was looking at him, then, he did something Mario did not expect.

He cried.

A big, dragon tear rolled down his muzzle, then he shouted, "I don't deserve this!" 

He stood up briskly. "I nearly killed that green guy- and this is how you treat me!? With MERCY!?" 

He kicked the wall, then shouted with pain and jumped up and down. He whirled around jaggedly and jabbed a finger at Mario, still crying. "You... you just... make me so... so..." he dropped to his knees. "I... I want to change... Zin, I'm sorry... please forgive me..."

Zin hugged him. "Malidor..."

He sobbed. 

Even Malice seemed phased, but he still said nothing.

"Now..." Luigi said, "I must go watch Aeolian... I must make sure he knows what he's doing out there." He rose unsteadily. The potion was still working in him, and he found himself with more energy with very step he took. "I'll be back, hopefully wit Aeolian at my side and Growle in chains." 

"Or better yet..." Opus stepped forth, holding Growle's keys and bracer, "we can put him in one of these. Give him a taste of his own medicine, hm?"

Luigi grinned and nodded. "Alright... let's do this!"


	26. Bittersweet

A/N: A while back I had MarioXPeach, LuigiXOC in my summary, then i removed it because I thought it would be painfully obvious who he'd go for when the character was introduced, and I'm' sure all of you saw that coming, but hey? Fanfics are predictable. Yet, then again, the whole Crystelle thing probably got at least someone going until she verbally slapped Luigi. At any rate, please welcome Jennie as Luigi's future wife... if she lives.  
Anyway this story will end in about 3 chapters. Sad isn't it? But at least it won't be one of those never ending stories, like what I felt Lost was like, ugh! Lost- that show lasted forever and still doesn't make sense to me.

Anyway the whole moon thing was definitely inspired by Super Mario Galaxy.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: BITTERSWEET

Luigi ran up the stairs, leaving his friends behind- he felt it was his duty to watch Aeolian, to make sure the Dragon knew what he was doing. He quickly ran up flights of stairs as quickly as he could, not wanting to waste a second. He was glad the castle was symmetrical and was not built of confusing twists and turns- he knew exactly where he was headed- the very top of the citadel.

When he finally made it to the last stair, he was out of breath and panting. He knew he was very close- the balcony was just in reach through two giant, iron doors. He thrust them open, and frowned. There wasn't much of a balcony- it was made for dragons, who could fly, and it was probably meant for a quick escape route. 

He looked up at the gigantic moon which hovered over the citadel. He could see Aeolian and Growle on it, standing on its white surface, drawn by its gravitational force. Luigi wondered if there was another way to reach it, if not, he would have to watch from here.

"Aeolian!" He cried, cupping his hands around his mouth. "How are you doing up there?"

Aeolian saw Luigi out of the corner of his eye and smiled. "Growle's been weakened! I think I can do this!"

Growle seemed to agree with Aeolian- his eyes were wide and fearful. He seemed to know that he was going to lose.

Aeolian roared triumphantly as he ran across the moon's surface, and he collided with Growle, knocking the great ice dragon off of his feet. Growle's cold body hit the moon hard, and he screamed, "Stop it! Stop it! I yeild!"

Aeolian stared at him, wondering if he was only trying to get Aeolian to drop his guard.

"Wait!" Luigi cried. "I have this bracer!"

He showed Aeolian the bracer in his hands. He was far away, he wasn't sure how he could get it to Aeolian. Then again, he could always throw a football farther then Mario could...

Luigi looked up and screamed, "catch!"

He threw the bracer to the moon with every ounce of strength he had- and it came in reach of the moon's gravity. Aeolian caught it, whirled around, and clasped it onto Growle, who seemed furious, but he knew he couldn't do anything now.

"Now, its time to finish this..." Aeolian said to himself. He closed his eyes, then said, "thank you, Luigi. You've redeemed me even though I have done nothing good to you. You've shown me every ounce of compassion and I have shown you no mercy earlier. If it wasn't for you I wouldn't be here."

Luigi smiled, yet he was confused. Did Aeolian know what to do? Had Kinimanji mindchatted with him? Was it dangerous?

"Luigi, tell the others that they were so good to me. And most of all, tell Jennie I mean best wishes for your marriage. 

Luigi's smile reverted to a surprised frown. Was Aeolain going to kill himself? 

"Aeolian-" he could not finish what he was saying as he saw Aeolian leap into the air and spin. His scales began glowing, and he cried, "I am the heir of the stars and moons, and I wish to end this war!" 

He then collided head-first with the great celestial being.

At first, there was nothing but a thud. Luigi could see Aeolian's hands planted firmly into the moon, and he could see Growle struggling to stop Aeolian, but he had no power. There was a few moments of silence.

Then, a rumble. He could see something fall from the sky, but he wasn't sure what it was. The blazing object collided with the moon, and then, something extraordinary happened.

A large crack appeared in the moon, and within it, a blazing light appeared, blinding Luigi. He gasped and sheilded his eyes, falling to his knees on the balcony. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he could hear many different sounds- Growle screaming, the moon shattering, and his friends cheering from inside the citadel.

But what of Aeolian? 

When the sounds stopped, Luigi forced his stinging eyes open, and could see a vast, empty spot in the sky. Then, something hit the ground hard behind him, and he jumped. He spun around, and then saw Aeolian, lying lifeless on the ground.

"Aeolian?"

Luigi could see that Aeolian's scales were no longer glittering. The dragon's back was facing Luigi, so he could not see Aeolian's eyes. But, as he thought about what happened, he soon came to realize what Aeolian had done.

What had hit the moon earlier- was a star.

Aeolian's star.

The star was strong enough to break the moon- the star of the Prophecy seemed to work against the evil of the moon, and thus, destroyed it for good.

He then saw Growle climb onto the balcony. His body was smoking, for the moon must have been white-hot inside. The evil ice dragon collapsed on the balcony, alive, but completely drained of power and authority.

Luigi turned to Aeolian again. It took him a while to let the information finally sink in- Aeolian and sacrificed himself for the world. Did Kinimanji know his son would die? Did he tell him this? The thoughts made Luigi angry, so angry, and as he shuddered and began to feel tears again, his friends burst out onto the balcony.

"Aeolian you did it!" Zin cried, but then, she noticed what was happening in the scene before them.

"Aeolian..." Peach murmured.

"Explain this," Demanded a red-eyed Reyva, who was being comforted by Mario. Nearby, Zin was carrying Jennie, who's leg was tightly bandaged. Malidor was standing behind her, looking nervous. Symphony and Opus stood holding hands, staring at Aeolian's limp body in mourning.

"Aeolian's star... collided with the moon... and destroyed it..."

Luigi glanced over at Zin, seeing that she had taken off her moon necklace, as did Malidor. But he could not see Malice with them- perhaps he left, too surprised to face the music. Luigi then remembered about Ironclaw, and whatever happened to him, but decided it was best not to think about that right now.

"It was... for the sake of us all..." Jennie said, "I... I feel terribly for Aeolian, and Kinimanji... but there's nothing we can do now but burn his remains, as we did with Serphen." 

Luigi bowed his head, feeling the cool tears stream down his cheeks once more. It was over. But it felt so... wrong. Did it have to end this way? 

He then looked at Growle. "And what should we do with him?"

"We will set him to work as a servant in the Arcane City..." Reyva breathed, rubbing her eyes. "We will treat him with kindness, unlike how he's treated Jennie all these years... and hopefully, we can break him."

"You will never break me," Growle spat, "I'd rather die then go with you!" 

"Well too bad, cuz we aren't killin' ya." Zin was beginning to regain her playfullness, but still, she could not be completely herself with Aeolian lying dead on the balcony.

"You... you guys do what you need to with his body..." Luigi felt a bit sick to his stomach as he spoke, "I... can't watch this..." 

He stood up and entered the citadel, his hands over his eyes.

0000000000

They entered the Arcane City, their minds swimming with mixed emotions. Two Dragons were missing, yet were replaced by four new dragons and a human. Everyone in the Dragon City bowed to them as they walked, Luigi in the lead with his brother behind him, followed by Peach and Zin, then Malidor and Reyva. And Symphony and Opus walked behind them, their bond tighter then before. Behind them, they dragged a long chain which was connected to Growle's bracer. They dragged him along, and he hated every step.

Kinimanji was waiting for them in the Arcane Palace. He opened his arms wide, and said with sorrowful eyes, "you have done it..."

He walked forth to greet them. "You, brave few, have saved our world..." there were tears of both joy and sheer sadness in the black dragon's blue eyes. "I... I have lost my son... for the sake of us all. I have lost my only heir, and thus, I will pass away. A new leader must step forth, however... a new leader must bring the throne... yet, who needs a king, when Growle's reign has ended?" 

He beckoned for Reyva.

"You have been with me ever since you were born, Reyva. You have shown me the qualities of a leader... and you have such depth to you. I am extremely sorry for Serphen... but you must know, that even if his star fell, he is a lasting memory in all of us... and he still shines whether we chose to see it or not."

Reyva's lower lip quivered, and she stood there in front of the crowd of dragons, looking like a mouse in a Colosseum.

Kinimanji walked to her, and embraced her, hugging her tightly, letting her cry on his shoulder. When she had gathered herself, she bowed to Kinimanji and said louder then she intended, with a quivering voice, "I... I humbly accept your crowning..."

Kinimanji then did something unexpected. He peeled from his arm, a black scale, and then, placed it in Reyva's hands.

"I pass my duty to her."

He then looked over at the humans Luigi, Mario, and Peach. "If it wasn't for you three, Aeolian would have never succeeded... if it wasn't for your commitment to him and saving all good people, we would all have been killed. This is something nothing material can repay... and unfortunately, it is something worth far beyond what I have to give... and all I have to offer is our eternal alliance with you and your kingdom."

"Its fine..." Mario spoke, "Luigi and I already have everything we want..." as he spoke, he took Peach's gloved hand and smiled behind his mustache.

"And I... have found my life..." Luigi said, glancing over at Jennie who was still in the arms of Zin.

"I am happy to hear this." Kinimanji said, then he looked over at Jennie. "You have been a slave for so long, in Growle's evil hands. You have saved Luigi's life by expressing such compassion for this stranger, and thus, you have also saved Aeolian, and found the man you were meant for. You deserve nothing lower then the greatest treasures in the world."

"Yet I want none..." Jennie said, "I want nothing more then a life in peace... with Luigi..."

Kinimanji smiled warmly. Then he looked over at Zin and Malidor. "You have been in the wrong hands, even if you thought you were right. You have made the wrong choices even as you lied to yourselves that what you were doing was best. Yet, in the long run, you two have proven to us that everyone has a chance to be redeemed."

Zin and Malidor bowed their heads.

Kinimanji then looked at Opus and Symphony. 

"Even as you practice forbidden Dragon talents, you used your rare talents for a good cause. Through love you, Symphony, have saved your fiance's life, and you have shown me that your talent can be a good thing, and you have shown me that I have judged you both wrongly. I hearby welcome you back into our village."

"Thank you, Kinimanji." Symphony nodded.

"Now," Kinimanji continued, "please, rest- tend to your wounds, and eat and drink. At this time- there will be a time of silence and recovery... and soon therafter, we shall have a celebration... but only after we have given those who have lost their lives here a worthy portion of our thoughts and time." 


	27. Contemplation

A/N: So in about 3 days, the story will be concluded. But, there may be a little surprise... who knows?

By the way, thank you Torta della pizza for the encouraging review:)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: CONTEMPLATION

Luigi sat, munching idly on a carrot as he gazed dolefully into the stars. He was dressed differently, in white robes, happy to be out of his worn and bloodied outfit of overalls and a green shirt.

He was resting on a bench in the city, a bench that was placed conveniently under the hole in the ceiling, which allowed sight into the sky. Sitting next to him was Jennie, her leg tightly bandaged, a bowl of soup in her hands. 

"Its been a long time since I've eaten something so pleasant," she commented, sipping the soup in a spoon.

Luigi smiled. 

"I've just been thinking lately," he spoke, "about what we have done here... and I know I can look into the sky and say some day to my children, 'every star you see has hope, has a life behind it. Every star in that sky has life because two fell.' They may look at me confused, and I will tell them a story..." His voice trailed, and he could feel his eyes once again moistening with tears. "Aeolian asked me... a few days after he hatched... what a book was. What a _story_ was... and I told him that this is the kind of thing that people immortalize in those stories..." He looked up at the stars, then said, "they immortalize tales of victory, tales of life... and yet, tales of great sacrifice...

"I want Aeolian to live on in stories, yet that just doesn't seem enough. But when I look into the sky, and see all those stars, and know that there is a life behind it, a life that will shine in hope because of what we did, I know that the world doesn't need a story about someone for that person to live on some way. Because every star we see in that sky shines brightly because of Aeolian and Serphen- and every star knows it." 

Jennie wasn't looking at the sky- she was looking in Luigi's eyes, and feeling how he felt all the same. She didn't have anything to say- she agreed completely with Luigi, and she had no words to match his. As they sat in silence, staring at the moonless sky, they heard someone walk behind them and sigh.

Luigi turned to see Mario, dressed in white robes like Luigi. He also was missing his hat, showing his messy brown hair.

"Hey, bro..." he mumbled.

"Guess what, Luigi?" Mario asked, a smile on his lips. "The Blight is gone!" he said without waiting for an answer. "I was looking for it while standing in the watchtower of this city. Can't see it. The black land is not there anymore. Aeolian's truly healed the world, just as the prophecies said."

Luigi smiled at the news, thought the mention of Aeolian was still hard to hear. He then couldn't help to chuckle, "I really caused a lot of trouble when I got that Blight..." he then remembered who dug him out of his predicament, and he fell silent once more.

"Well," Mario said, "they're gone for good this time." He then snapped and said, "oh, and another thing. You know Opus and Symphony? Their marriage is tomorrow after the ceremony."

"Really?" Luigi cracked a smile. "We'll have to see that..."

Peach came up from behind Mario, and then laid her hands on his shoulders, massaging him gently. "Its a beautiful night." She commented, "its always night here, but its more beautiful now then ever before. The stars are shining so brightly."

She stopped to stare at the sky once more, then asked, "how are we getting back to the Mushroom Kingdom?"

"I guess we'll have to have Symphony and Opus take us..." Luigi sighed. "That is, if they want to spend their honeymoon in the Mushroom Kingdom..."

"We'll have to ask them after the ceremony."

000000000000

The night of the ceremony was extremely lively.

Luigi, Mario, and Peach were enthralled by the Dragon culture. Amidst all of the dancing and music, there was plenty of strange foods, some that made Luigi choke, others made him want to eat nothing else but. As he was hanging around one of the many tables crammed with food, Mario approached him, smiling oddly.

"Check this out, Weege." He held up an odd looking grub.

Luigi grimaced. "Looks heavenly..." 

"I'll pay you five hundred Mushroom Coins if you eat this."

Luigi glanced at him like he was crazy. "You're kidding."

"No, really!" He said, "just eat it, and I'll pay you! Oh, and if you only eat half of it, I'll only give you two-fifty. Deal?"

Luigi shook his head, "there's no way I'm going to eat that." 

"Oh, come on, Weege!"

"Perhaps you could spice up the deal a bit, and maybe I'll think its worth it... say, one thousand?"

"What, do you want me to slit my own throat just to watch you gag over a grub?" Mario said, but then a look came over his face, and he said, "deal." 

Luigi hesitantly took the green worm from Mario's hands. He stared at the invertebrate for a few seconds, nervous. He then looked up at Mario, his eyes scrunched with disgust and nervousness.

"Take all the time you need." Mario crossed his arms with a smile. At that time, Zin and Malidor were passing by, and Mario flagged them down. "You gotta see this, guys! I betted Luigi one thousand coins if he could eat that!" 

Zin and Malidor exchanged glances, grinned, and then were at Mario's side, staring at Luigi, watching with anticipation.

"Oh, Mario, you're making me nervous!"

"Take your time." Mario said. "Hold on, hold on. I gotta find Peach. She'll just die!" He dashed away, leaving Luigi feeling as though he was about to drink poison, and was open to chose when he wanted to kill himself. He then gasped as he saw Mario return with not only Peach, but Symphony and Opus as well, and a small crowd of dragons he didn't recognize.

"Okay, this has gone too far, Mario, the deal's off!" 

"Oh come on, Weegie! Please do it! You already shook on it anyway! We've never broken a shake before, even as kids!"

"Aaaw, Mario!" Luigi stamped his foot, but then glanced once again at the grub in his fingers. "Fine! Fine! I'll do it!" And without another word, he popped the whole thing in his mouth, and the color was flushed from his face. His eye twitched, and he swallowed and was left gasping for breath. 

Everyone in the crowd Mario brought clapped, and began laughing. Luigi, feeling completely disgusted, couldn't help but to smile sheepishly at his success. "Well, that wasn't... _cough_... so bad..." He gagged.

"Nice work Luigi! You can just withdraw the money when we get back to our homeworld." Mario slapped his brother on the back. "Congratulations! You've just eaten a huge, juicy, decay-eating moth larvae!" 

Luigi clapped his hand over his mouth and dashed away faster then Mario had ever seen him run. Mario shook his head, chuckling, and then re-entered the crowd.

0000000000

A few minutes later, Kinimanji took the center of the town square and announced in a deep voice, "three important things are about to take place here in the Arcane City! First, we shall celebrate the official crowning of Reyva as my successor."

Reyva timidly stepped forward into a clearing surrounding Kinimanji The crowds cheered as they stood watching Reyva. Mario clapped loudly and whistled for her, as he was doing so, he saw out of the corner of his eye, Luigi cautiously making his way through the dragons, looking both relieved, and angry.

"Thanks a lot, Mario..." He growled lowly to his brother as he stood next to him, clapping for Reyva at the same time.

Mario chuckled. "Hey, I already paid for it. It was worth it, I tell ya!" 

"Shh! Look! Reyva's doing something with the scale!"

"Now is the time," Kinimanji spoke, "for Reyva to take my royalty. Add the scale, Reyva, to your shoulder."

Reyva did so. She pressed the scale firmly into her shoulder, and for a moment, all of her scales flashed, and suddenly, her purple scales became a darker shade of purple- as if she had just grown a level in her wisdom and age.

"Now, you all will see her as your leader!"

And all of the dragons in the room took to their knees, including Luigi, Mario, and Peach. Jennie found it hard to take to her knee, so instead, she bowed her head as she stood with a crutch in her place. 

Reyva did not know what else to do- so much had happened to her, and this was another huge change in her life. With a trembling voice, she spoke, "I will take my duty seriously. I will strive to become the leader you all need me to be." 

"Thank you, Reyva." Kinimanji laid a hand on her shoulder, then announced, "and now, is the ceremony of the union between male and female- the union between Symphony and Opus- a union that will last a lifetime."

Symphony and Opus stepped forth, holding each other's hands tightly.

"Now, present your scales."

Symphony peeled a scale from her body, and Opus did so with his, and they then exchanged their scales, putting one in the other's hand. Mario and Luigi watched them curiously- it was as if their scales were to symbolize a part of them- as Kinimanji passed his royalty down to Reyva even though she was not his daughter- and now, Symphony and Opus were exchanging scales themselves, as though they were becoming one with each other.

"You may now dress yourselves."

And Symphony and Opus placed the scales in the empty spot that was revealed, and everyone in the room cheered. Opus embraced Symphony, kissing her passionately. Nearby, dragon-maids threw silvery petals into the air.

"And now, for our final ceremony." Kinimanji spoke, "Please. I would like the humans to come forward."

Luigi and Mario exchanged glances, not expecting this, and they came into the clearing, along with Peach and Jennie.

"We Dragons have avoided your kind since the beginning of time. And yet, you showed me that no matter where you come from, there is good there as well. And, you all have expressed such traits that would humble some of my kind- therefore, I would like to ask the king and queen of this world, to humbly accept the Dragonkind as their neighbor and friend- we will provide any help you may need, anything that you could ask for if trials should befall your kind."

"And we shall return that favor," Mario bowed. "Our kind will also be willing to help you at any time, Kinimanji. We accept the treaty. But, I don't really think of myself as a king... the Mushroom Kingdom is a peaceful land that does not need a king most of the time. Yet as its protector, I guess I am its monarch."

Kinimanji grinned, and said, "thank you." He then announced to the crowd, "let us always acknowledge the humans- as one of us."

The stars shone brightly that night.


	28. Return Home

A/N: To Torta, yes, I saw that review, and I am glad you liked the picture. :P Feel free to draw anything of mine (in fact, I'll feel so extremely honored if you did). Just be sure to credit me when you link to it.

To anyone else, this is about a day away from our epic conclusion to Luigi's Dragons.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: RETURN HOME  
"Thanks for offering to take us back home," Peach bowed to the newlyweds Symphony and Opus, as they led them to a tall mountain in the region. "Are you sure you want to spend your honeymoon in the Mushroom Kingdom?"

"Yes, of course." Symphony said. "And we couldn't miss the wedding of Luigi and Jennie, now could we? You guys came to ours, so we have to return the favor, hm?"

Luigi blushed and stratched his head while Jennie hugged him. "Were you planning on having it right away, Weeige?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess..." his heart fluttered, and he felt so nervous he felt a bit sick. "Heh... butterflies..." he grinned sheepishly.

Jennie kissed him lightly on the cheek, and he looked a bit woozy.

"We'd love to visit your world and see your culture." Opus mused, "and see how you celebrate the joining of souls into an eternal unity."

"Eternal?" Mario hummed. "How long do dragons live, anyway?"

"Until our star falls." Symphony replied, "every star is different. Some last for many generations, some fall quicker then others, but none fall too early for a dragon to have a lifetime in his world unless he gives up hope and his star dwindles."

"Hey," Luigi perked, "whatever happened to Growle? He wasn't at the ceremony."

"Oh, he was getting quite a lecture from the jail masters in our village. He's going to be forced to work in civil service." Symphony chuckled. "Needless to say, he's going to be miserable. Then again, maybe some day, we can break him."

As they walked under the night sky, they finally reached a nearby mountain that was high enough for them to get a decent head start off of. Opus and Symphony led the humans up onto a stable ledge, then Opus took Mario and Luigi onto his back, and Symphony took Peach and Jennie. Then, holding hands, Symphony and Opus jumped off of the cliff, spread out their wings, and caught a breeze of air.

"Everybody hold on! We're exiting the Dragon Kingdom's atmosphere and entering the Mushroom Kingdom!" 

Luigi clutched onto Opus tightly and shut his eyes- when Aeolian ascended, it wasn't a pleasant ride for him, and he could easily remember it.

Before he knew it, he felt freezing cold- and he then remembered that his heavier clothes were still in the backpack that he had taken with him the whole time- yet he was too afraid to let go of Opus to dress himself appropriately.

"Don't worry- we've already got enough altitude to just fly on by the Shiver Region as far as we can..." spoke Symphony, "Opus and I are older dragons. We've got a longer flight span then Aeolian did. I think we can make it at least far enough to the borders of the Mushroom Mainland..." 

Luigi and Mario peered over the edge of Opus, and could see the white blanket of snowlands below them. Luigi then remembered about Crystelle, and if she had married her fiance yet. Or did she even have one? Luigi wondered if she just made up that story as an excuse to not be interested in him, perhaps because she wasn't even human. _Or maybe_, he mused, _snow fell in love with rain and went on to live somewhere else?  
_

A few hours passed of nothing but flesh-numbing wind and freezing temperatures, and yet, Luigi still clung to Opus, wondering how his woman was doing. He peered over Opus once more to see Shiver City below them. He then remembered about old Captain Briney, and what he was up to. Was he praying for their success? Did he know they were coming back? Luigi liked the old man very much, even if he associated him with one of his least favorite things in the world.

Soon, they were crossing over a sea, and the temperatures began to warm up a tad. The sun, Luigi could see, was rising in the distance- and he had never felt so happy to see it. He was so used to the perpetual night of the Dragon Kingdom that he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the beautiful sunrise.

As the flight continued and the warmth increased, he suddenly felt very tired, and before he knew it, his eyes were drooping shut, and he began to slip, but he felt his brother grab him with one hand and position him in front. Luigi was now sitting in front of Mario, leaning back against him. 

"You can go to sleep. I won't let you fall."

He trusted his brother more then anyone, and was able to have a pleasant rest.

0000000000

"Luigi. Luigi, wake up!" 

Luigi grumbled, forcing open his eyes. As he was wondering where Opus was, and why he wasn't on his back anymore, he found himself lying on his own couch in his home. He was suddenly wide awake.

"Mario!" He shouted. "We're home! Oh my goodness! I can't believe it!" He gripped his hair with excitement, and then began bouncing up and down. "Oh, wow! Wow! This place... it hasn't changed at all but I've never been so happy to see i! Oh, a kitchen, a refrigerator..."

He spun around, to see Mario, Peach, and Jennie in the room, watching him with smiles.

"Oh, sorry..." he blushed, "I kind of overreacted..."

He sat back down on the couch, and then Jennie spoke, "while you were resting, Mario and Peach showed me around. You really konked out, Luigi. Out like a light. And we couldn't even turn you on when Opus landed!" She chuckled. "Mario just kept shaking you but you kept mumbling something under your breath, so we just took you here and let you sleep. You needed it." 

Luigi blushed. "Oh, sorry... I would've woken up if I knew I was asleep and everyone needed me awake... but the mind just doesn't work like that I guess..."

"Its alright. Anyway I was looking at your sun and wondering, is that sun everyone's lives? And yet, when that sun goes down, many stars appear. Are those stars everyones lives as well? Your world is so much stranger... with the sun, and the stars, and everything... what does it all mean?"

Luigi shrugged. "Well, your world gave me just the same reaction... all I know is, there's something greater out there..." his voice trailed. "Some deep meaning... I mean, look at the stars in your world, and how there's a person behind each one, and yet in ours, there's stars at night and a sun at day... and all this stuff... its just bizarre, I tell you, but I love it all the same..."

There was a short silence.

"So, Luigi? Do you want to go out to eat for pizza?" Peach suggested.

His mouth began to water.

"Would I?!" 

Mario joined him. "Would we!?" He jumped up and shouted joyously, "Woohoo! Let's go get some pizza! I'm so sick of all this trail mix we've been having lately... oh, wow, I can't wait!"

As he and his brother were about to rush out the door, he skidded to a stop and asked, "where's Opus and Symphony?"

"They're exploring the castle with Toadsworth," Peach said, "they wanted to see what kind of architecture our world has. I guess they'll be back soon."

"I'm starving, and they're with Toadsworth, so there wont' be any trouble." Mario said. "Come on, hon! Let's go get us some real food!" 

The four humans left joyously, to eat and fellowship- and make wedding plans.


	29. Crashing the Plans

A/N: Well, one more chapter to go until this story ends.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: CRASHING THE PLANS

"Nervous?"

Luigi was beyond nervous. He swallowed hard as he allowed Mario to adjust his tie. "You look amazing, Luigi." Mario said as he stepped back to observe his brother's cleanliness in his 3000-coin tux. "You know, I always pictured your wedding differently..."

"How so?" Luigi asked as he ate yet another breath mint- he wanted everything to be perfect, but perhaps after his twelth mint, his breath would smell too fresh?

"I always pictured you walking down the isle wearing your old overalls all stained and nasty!" Mario chuckled. He was wearing a tux as well, though it wasn't as nice as Luigi's. 

Luigi didn't have his hat, so he took extra care when he fixed his hair- slicking it back, yet allowing his bangs to hang in front of his eyes. He took a deep breath. "I just... wonder how Peach did in picking her out a dress... I wonder how beautiful she'll look..."

"Well, we better hurry up and get ready to walk out those doors." Mario said. "Because the time's almost here and-"

Suddenly, there was a scream for Luigi from the main room where the wedding room was. Luigi and Mario gasped and exchanged glances. Then, they charged out the door and was greeted to an extremely unpleasant picture.

Princess Peach stood in the room, her hair tangled, her dress dirty. The crowd of people in chairs around the room were about to panic- they saw her run inside the room like this, out of breath, nervous. Mario ran to her. "Peach! Baby! What happened!?" 

"Oh, its... horrible! Mario, Luigi... you... you won't believe this... Ironclaw and Malice came back... to the Mushroom Kingdom, they followed us here... and they've captured Jennie! They're holding her hostage in my own castle, and they've taken down Symphony and Opus! They're demanding Luigi... they want to do something with him but I don't know what!" 

Mario and Luigi felt as though their blood had been drained from their body. A terrible feeling washed over Luigi, a deep fear and anguish.

"...how... why!? WHY is this happening!?" He cried, gripping his hair nervously.

"We have to hurry and save her!" Mario yelled. "Tux or not, we've got to go! Everyone, you can go back to your homes. We can handle this."

The guests watched nervously as Mario and Luigi ran out of the room, fearfully hoping that Jennie wasn't hurt.

000000000000

"So, you decided to come." Ironclaw grinned devilishly as he stood in the middle of the foyer in Peach's castle. Jennie was being held by Malice, her arms behind her back, her wedding veil over her face.

"Please... I'll do anything, just let her go..." Luigi pleaded. "Don't hurt her... just... return her to me..."

"Yes. Well, unfortunately for YOU, Luigi, we need something of you. And the only way you can do what we need you to do is if we make you do it, by holding your bride here hostage!"

"what is it?" Luigi asked, falling to his knees as Mario stared at him like he was crazy.

"Luigi, we can do this! Attack them!"

"Attack and I'll break her neck." Malice grumbled.

"No, Mario! Don't attack them!" Luigi screamed. "Ironclaw... what is it you want!? I'll do anything just don't hurt her!"

"We would like the throne. When Growle lost his power he Mindchatted to me one thing- for I am his son." Malice spoke with a smirk. "He told me to continue his reign by stretching it to your world- and this is just what I am going to do. Now, hand us over your world, and your bride will be spared. I'll even be nice and let you marry her before the doom of your land right now, how does that sound?"

Luigi felt boiling rage crawling through his body. "NO!" He screamed. He dropped to the ground, still screaming. "NO!" He threw his hands over his head and curled up, resting his head on his knees, with his hands still on his head.

Mario's eyes narrowed. "You're asking the wrong person!" He screamed. "I'm the king of the Mushroom Kingdom, not Luigi!" 

"What?" Ironclaw gasped.

"You heard me right! Now if you're asking for the throne I"m gonna say no!"

Luigi looked up at Mario, dumbstruck. "Mario! They'll kill Jennie!"

Mario took a step forth. "In fact I'm just going to go ahead and tell you two to buzz off!"

Malidor's grip tightened around Jennie's neck, and Luigi cringed, shutting his eyes, waiting for the sound.

But the only sound that came therafter- was the sound of Malice collapsing, and Jennie gasping for breath. There was another sound, as if something had been hit with a blunt weapon, and another collapse. Luigi opened his eyes and saw that both Malidor and Ironclaw were down, and in their place stood Symphony and Opus, both holding a chair from the castle.

"We better lock these two up somewhere before they cause any more trouble..." Symphony growled. "We're so sorry about that, guys, we tried to help but they knocked us out... lucky we got ourselves together, huh?"

"That was odd... why did they want the throne...?" Mario mused as he stared angrily at Malice. "And what did they mean by the prophecy? Not sure about you, but I think there's more to that story..."

Luigi ran to Jennie, picked her up and hugged her tightly. "Oh, Jennie! I'm so sorry... this happened... and I know the groom isn't supposed to see the bride before the actual wedding, but... I guess this makes an exception, right?"

Jennie began laughing, and at the same time, crying, as she hugged her finance tightly, not ever wanting to let go.


	30. Under Sun and Stars

A/N: Oh, crap I said MALIDOR again! At some point I need to go back through this and fix all the mistakes in it. But I don't wanna do that right now, lol.

Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. Its probably the shortest one, but its also the most surprising.

CHAPTER THIRTY: UNDER SUN AND STARS

"You may now kiss the bride."

Luigi had just finished going through the I-dos, and the moment he was waiting for, yet dreading at the same time, was finally here. He had never kissed a girl before, let alone on the lips, and his heart pounded as he embraced her. Before kissing her he wondered if his mustache would get in the way, but he hoped she wouldn't mind- no way he was shaving it, especially not here. After taking a breath, he locked lips with hers, and stood there for a few seconds, in front of the crowd.

As he finally withdrew, blushing, he couldn't help but to grin, and she smiled back, and they faced the crowd.

It was a day after the official wedding date, which was crashed unexpectedly, but everyone who was invited came again to witness their second-best protector's marriage, just as they watched Mario's four years ago. Luigi was used to coming in second place, but he didn't care now. As he glanced down at his ring finger, which now had a beautiful symbol of eternal marriage, he smiled sincerely and stepped off of the center stage with his wife.

As the music began to play, the guests all stood up and began to make their way towards the reception, some tossing Luigi a few congrats, he was joined up with Mario and Peach, who were both teary-eyed.

"Oh, that was great, Luigi!" Mario threw himself into his brother's arms and said, "I'm just... so happy for you, you would not believe..."

Luigi blushed, and found himself holding Jennie's hand. She hadn't said anything, she just smiled and stared into Luigi's blue eyes with a deep, pure happiness.

He and the others went into the reception room, greeting guests until it began to become tiresome, and Mario approached his brother with a champagne and said, "So, Luigi, do you want to stick around for the reception, or do you want to check out a present I got you for your honeymoon?" He sipped his drink and continued. "Now it isn't quite finished yet but I really want you to see it."

"Do you think we should go?" Luigi asked Jennie.

"Sure." She said, "I'm excited to see what your brother has got us."

The two followed Mario and Peach out of the building after making their way through a few more visitors, They journeyed down a pleasant pathway which lead from the church to Toad Town. Once they made it to Toad Town, they took a cut through another path that led to the Mario Brother's house.

"Hey, do you see that crane...?" Luigi said, confused. There was a tall crane seen through the treetops. As he approached his house, he noticed what Mario was doing, and he broke into a laugh. He came to a clearing in the forest, a clearing that wasn't there before, and there were many workers laboring double-time to build what Luigi thought was a very nice house.

"You're building me a _house_? Right next to yours!?"

"Of course. I couldn't let you two have the couch for the rest of your marriage, now could I?"

Luigi grabbed his brother and hugged him like a teddy bear. "Oh Mario! This is so great!"

"Well, why don't you go in there and check it out?" 

Luigi and Jennie excitedly ran to the building, looking like the perfect couple as they ran in harmony, Jennie's wedding dress flowing in the wind, Luigi looking very sophisticated in his tux. They observed the workers, watching them put up the rough skeleton of the house. What he could see, he liked- it was nice and big, yet not too big as to be a pain to clean for just one couple.

"So how many rooms will it have?" He asked Mario, who had caught up to them with his wife.

"Oh, not too many. Four bed, two bath, kitchen and living room."

"_Four_ bedrooms?"

"Well you always seemed like a family guy to me. You're not gonna _not_ have kids, are you?" 

Luigi glanced at Jennie and they both laughed, and Jennie said, "isn't it a bit too early to be thinking about that? You've been married for four years and you still don't have kids, Mario."

"Well I plan to have at least one," Mario said, "but Peach wants two or three." 

Peach giggled. "Well I've always liked kids. Mario thinks having too many is an inconvenience but I think its a joy."

"Hey, whatever you want babe, its fine with me."

Luigi laughed, then said, "so, where should we go for our honeymoon?"

"Oh I don't care. Wherever in the Mushroom Kingdom that you think is prettiest... maybe a place close to the sun and stars, a place where I can see your sky more clearly." 

Mario snapped. "I know just the place- shooting star summit! If we go there tonight, its going to be awfully pretty." 

0000000000

Luigi and Jennie sat on the top of the summit, gazing into the stars. She was curled up in his arms, staring at all of the stars in the sky. She said, "its beautiful... but why do I see some stars falling?"

"Our stars aren't like yours." He said, "they don't have a person behind them. Sometimes they fall, and hit the ground, and they're used for power. They're called Power Stars. They give all the homes here energy. But when in the wrong hands, they can become tools of destruction. They're kind of neutral on the scale of good and evil." 

"That's very interesting..." She sighed. "I can't believe I was born here, and yet, don't know anything about it... Growle kidnapped me when I was only a little girl."

Luigi frowned. "So you've been a slave all your life?"

"Yes... but not anymore... this has got to be the happiest day of my life, Luigi, and you gave that to me. I will never leave your side, no matter what happens."

He hugged her tightly and smiled. 

As happiness erupted from the two travelers, they were unaware of a certain someone staring at them from the trees, quietly avoiding detection.

"This isn't over yet..." he mumbled, burning rage in his eyes. "No, this isn't over yet, Mario Brothers..."

He turned and leapt away, sticking to the shadows as he disappeared into the darkness. He would not stop until he had revenge against them- but it would take a while to carry out the plan that was in his mind. But whatever happened, he knew he would be victorious in the end.

THE END?


End file.
